Treacherous Lovelies
by Annjirika
Summary: A series of one-shot like stories following the meeting, first kiss, and everything after. {YuffiexRiku}
1. To fly and forget

A/N: Ignore the ending of Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: Chain Of Memories for all intents and purposes of this fanfic. It is not meant to be 'historically' correct, it is meant souly for your enjoyment. This really wasn't meant to be like 'Squffie Round Robin' at the Squffie Forum…I've always wanted to do a 'Yuffie wants to fly' fic…I've just now gotten the inspiration for it, thanks in part to the SRR story.

Disclaimer: I, ANNJIRIKA donot OWN ALL RIGHTS TO COUNT THE STARS, KINGDOM HEARTS, THE CHARACTERS, SQUARESOFT, AND DISNEY INTERACTIVE! THEY ARE not ALL MINE! THAT'S RIGHT! RIKU IS ACTUALLY not SITTING IN MY CLOSET RIGHT NOW!

_----_

And I'm still searching 

_For that something_

_We all look for_

_And now wait for_

_----_

_---Yuffie---_

The young, raven-haired ninja looked out over the edge of the bell tower, contemplating the consequenses of jumping. Not to kill herself of course, but to see if she could fly. Like Sora. She'd watched him jump off this exact building and glide gracefully to the door leading to First District, his friends (the duck and dog) follwing a little more awkwardly. They could fly…so she had to be able to fly too! Just…how?

She'd voiced her interest in the matter to Aerith, who quickly threatened to handcuff her to Leon himself if she attempted to jump off any building higher than 8 feet. So Yuffie promised to wait for Sora to return so he could teach her. That was over a month ago, and he'd only been in town for an hour or so. It was right after he sealed Kingdom Hearts so of course, he'd been busy. Sora was due back anytime today according to the radio transmission Cid received yesterday. She would be able to ask Sora his secret and if she could maybe borrow it.

He was supposed to bring his friends along. Yuffie had been especially surprised to hear 'friends' instead of just 'a friend'. Kairi she knew, but the other one had turned against Sora and went all psycho-evil. And they were still friends? What was his name? Ricky or Ku-ri or…something. (1)

Anyway, it wasn't important. All Yuffie had been able to focus on was this glide technique. She glanced over the edge again, biting her lip. She was so excited about learning to fly that had she completely blocked out the possiblity that Sora might not have had the time or the interest to spend his time showing her the ropes. She just assumed he would be his usual eager self.

Yuffie sighed and threw herself back onto the ground behind her, staring up at the always dark and always starry sky. "Wait wait wait." She mumbled, bored with waiting. She'd been waiting for weeks, which was way too long for Yuffie to wait for _anything_. Who had that kind of patience? To pass the time, she closed her eyes and imagined herself soaring through the air until she unwittingly fell asleep.

---Riku---

"Sora! It's so nice to see you again!" Aerith jumped up from her chair when she saw the three of them. "Oh, and you Kairi!" She added, pulling both teenagers into a hug. She practically radiated maternal energy. He stood behind them, silent, uncomfortable, and unsure of what to do.

"Good to see you too, Aerith." Kairi said with a smile as soon as the embrace ended. She reached behind her, holding her hand out to Riku. He hestitated but couldn't argue when she grabbed his own hand anyway and pulled him between her and Sora. "This is Riku!" She introduced brightly.

Riku wasn't blind. He saw the flicker of realization in Aerith's eyes. He was the one that was possessed by Ansem. He was the one that took Kairi away from Sora. He was the one that tried to kill Sora. He still wasn't used to that sort of recognition.

But Aerith smiled kindly at him anyway; her eyes just as warm as they had been when addressing the others. "It's nice to finally meet you, Riku. I've heard a lot about you."

"I hope not." He murmured without realizing they could all hear him. Kairi squeezed his hand tightly. "I-I mean, it's nice to meet you also." He quickly amended, dropping Kairi's hand and resuming his spot behind the couple. Sora grinned at him.

"I told you not to turn-" A loud, grumpy voice started to exclaim from outside. The Accessory shop door swung open. "-On the water while I was-"

"Stop yelling at me old man, and get the wrench." A tall, dark-haired man walked in, scowling. A damp, older man (who Riku recognized as Cid) followed. He glared at the younger man's back and muttered blackly.

"Leon, Cid, they're here." Aerith got in the warning as soon as she could, hoping to quell any more ugly words that could be thrown. Leon, the dark-haired one with the scar between his eyes, glanced over the three of them and muttered a quick hello. He seemed preoccupied and annoyed.

Cid grunted in reponse to their appearance and disppeared behind the counter, rummaging around for (what Riku suspected was) a wrench.

"One's missing." Sora said suddenly, looking around the little shop.

"Yuffie." Kairi added with a nod.

"She's around here somewhere. Been lookin' forward to your visit." Cid grumbled from his hiding place. "Aha! Gotcha!" He emerged victoriously and held up the metal tool, his prize. Riku smirked. He was still the same Cid he'd ran into almost a year ago. Of course, that meeting had only lasted 5 minutes at most, but Cid's boisterous personality shone through every second. He'd met up with the man by accident when he'd first came to Traverse Town. Cid was also the one that told him there had been another boy looking for his friends.

"I remember you." Cid saw Riku it seemed for the first time. "You got taller, boy." He observed.

"Can we have the touching reunion later? I've got a bathroom sink flooding my floor." Leon said impatiently.

Cid rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah we're going." He grunted. Leon nodded and walked out the door, satisfied. "Ya ungrateful, impatient, antisocial little punk." He added as soon as he was sure the warrior was out of earshot and out of fighting range but he followed Leon anyway.

Aerith hid her smile. "Will you be staying at the hotel?" She asked Sora, taking the train of thought away from the loud slam of the door accompanying Cid's exit.

"Well, we were planning to, but we weren't sure if the…" Sora began explaining and Riku began to tune out.

"I'm gonna go look around." He muttered to Kairi. She just nodded, her eyes never leaving her spiky-headed hero's smiling form. This was something else Riku had yet to cope with. His best friends were in love with each other. He slipped outstide quietly, so not to draw any attention to himself. The town hadn't changed at all really, save for the slight populations increase. But that was all.

He blended in with the small, moving crowd (as much as his bright yellow shirt, blue pants, silver hair, and tanned face would allow) and headed around the corner and up a few stairs. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets and sighed heavily. This town was packed with memories. Everywhere he turned he felt the familiar emptiness he'd experienced when he'd been first taken from his home.

He thought it was what he wanted, to see new places and new people. To get away from the little island that he'd been imprisoned on for 15 years. When he got his wish he came to truly understand the phrase 'the grass is always greener on the other side'. Of course, his heart had leapt when he'd learned that Sora was also in the town…but that turned out to be a big mistake.

He had always been the jealous type, but he'd never really acted on it. Particularly when it came to Kairi. He didn't want anyone to really know about his exceptional fondness for her. _Especially_ Kairi. Sora, naïve as he was, couldn't hide his crush on the Princess of Heart, even if he had tried. So Riku did the only thing he could do in this situation; tease tease tease.

Paopu jokes and twisted bets, and not to mention technically kidnapping her. All that time he thought he was finally going to gain Kairi's love. He thought he'd show her just how much he cared for her and the lengths he was willing to go for her. He let the villian of all villans take him over…for _her_.

He talked to her constantly during that trip. About everything and nothing, pouring out the secrets he'd locked inside. He thought somehow, in some strange way, she could hear him and she would know she was with him so she didn't have to be scared. The more he thought back on that though, the more he decided she was _his_ moralsupport instead. He needed her more than she needed him.

But she was just a shell then. Sora really had her all along. It was around that time he realized that he could never really have her. She was always going to be connected to Sora and no amount of darkness or love could change that. Sora was the Keyblade Master and Kairi was the Princess of Heart. That left Riku to play the role of scoundrel. What other sterotype did he have?

But the bitterness had left him almost immediately when the three of them had returned to their island. That's not to say things weren't strained for a month or so. The quiet looks, the overly polite conversation, the way Kairi was nervous around him. Kairi and Sora grew closer and closer during those days, until eventually they 'officially' became a couple.

The bitterness was gone, but the hurt was still there, then and now. There was an ache in his heart whenever he thought about the past or saw Sora and Kairi so happy together. He wanted to share that sort of relationship with someone but he was too scared to get close to anyone again. So he isloated himself from everything. Inside he may have been dying, but on the outside he was once again the same competetive, cocky teenager, simply older.

The more time passed though, the more he let his guard down. He was starting to trust himself again, as well as his friends. The melodrama and pain would always be a scorpion in the back of his mind but he would eventually return to his normal self and move on with his life. He was just getting tired of waiting for eventually.

His wanderings had taken him to the quieter, must less busy Second District. _In fact_, he thought, _it's empty_. Were people still too afraid of the heartless to leave First District? Certainly not. It had been over a month since they had been defeated. He shrugged to himself and continued to stroll down the walk, looking at the lower level bricks.

It wasn't until he glanced up that he noticed the small, thin frame standing atop the Bell Tower. Correction: At the edge of the Bell Tower, looking over the edge. She had yet to see him. Riku's heart skipped a beat_. She's gonna jump! _He thought automatically. He whipped his hands out of his pockets and held them up, waving furiously.

"HEY! HEY YOU!" He yelled, jumping up and down. The girl looked in the direction of the frantic voice and spotted Riku. She took a small step closer to the edge, leaning down a little to get a better look at him. Riku immediately stopped waving his arms like a windmill and began signaling her to go back. "DON'T DO IT! DON'T JUMP!" He shouted and began to sprint toward the Gizmo Shop doors. He'd have to get up there before she decided to do it. "JUST HOLD ON! I'M COMING UP!"

"NO! Wait! You don't understand!" The girl hollered back, cupping her hands around her mouth to amplify her voice.

Riku ignored her obviously, running through the brightly painted shop and out the opposite doors. He wasted no time in finding the ladder and began to climb it, praying he hadn't been too late.

_---Yuffie---_

_He's broken my record!._ Yuffie thought in shock and admiration when the boy, her self-appointed savior, came clattering up the ladder. _He's reached me in less than 15 seconds! _She waited in anticipation for him to arrive, wanting to see the one that was even faster than she was. Imagine her surprise when he turned out to be rather tall and stocky. He was by no means pudgy, but he definitely had muscle mass.

"D-Don't jump!" He commanded. He leaned over and placed his hands on his knees, attempting to catch his breath.

_Poor guy_. She thought, smiling. "Jeez you're fast!" She replied, walking over to him and bending down to look him in the eyes. She noticed how strange they were. Pretty, but out of the ordinary. They weren't green and they weren't blue, they were…exactly like the ocean. And his hair was silver! That wasn't normal. It wasn't unheard of, but it wasn't normal. Ansem had had silver hair too.

His eyes widened. "You…" He straightened and cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair. "You weren't gonna jump?"

"I tried to tell you but you seemed so intent on saving me…why spoil your fun?" Yuffie grinned. "Seriously now, how'd you run that fast? Think you could do it again? What about a race!"

The boy blinked a few times, apparently confused. "I, uh." He faultered. "I just ran…are you sure you aren't going to jump? You looked so…"

Yuffie cracked up. "I was wondering how far I would fly before I went crashing to my death is all. No _real_ suicidal thoughts here, but thanks." She shrugged, placing her hands on her hips and shifting her weight to her right foot. Her typical stance.

The boy then had the grace to look embarrassed. He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, glancing out at the rather spectacular view of the district. "Oh. Sorry about that. I just thought…I don't know what I thought."

Yuffie shrugged. "Hey, don't worry about it! I'm sure if I _was_ considering really jumping, seeing you would have definitely stopped me." That could have been taken two ways, Yuffie realized before she could correct herself. If the boy noticed he was a good actor and let it slide.

"Thanks." He smiled lightly. "I'm Riku." He held out his hand to shake.

Yuffie's eyes widened. "Riku!" She exclaimed. "_That's_ it! Why did I think your name was Ricky?" She muttered to herself, so wrapped up in her own stupidity that she forgot Riku's hand was still hanging. He quickly let it drop and cleared his throat again.

"Do I know you?"

"Oh! No, we haven't offically met. I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie! I've heard lots about you though!"

For some reason, Riku's eyes darkened. "Hmm." Was all he would say. It was Yuffie's turn to blink. Had she said something wrong? She guessed her uncertainty was clear on her face because he quickly backtracked. "I mean, I've heard about you too. Nice to meet you."

Yuffie squinted at him and cocked her head to the side, taking in this stranger. Her staring must have made him uncomfortable because he shifted and ran his hand through his hair again. A nervous habit maybe? "Wanna sit down?" She asked, guesturing to the ground.

Riku agreed with little persuasion. In fact, he seemed grateful for the invitation. She led him to the side of the building, where she sat with her legs dangling over edge. She noticed Riku sat next to her, but kept an obvious distance between them. It got her thinking. The distance wasn't necessarily a bad thing but it said a lot about his character, intentional or not. He seemed quiet (though that might have been because she was still technically a stranger to him) and he oozed confidence all over the place, even while apologizing for an embarrassing mistake. He was also very attractive. You could tell that he knew it too, by the way he carried himself and the way he walked, especially the way he grinned. Arrogant, yet down-to-earth. He was a lot like a young Leon.

_Now there's a scary thought._ She said to herself, casting her gaze down at her swinging feet. Another Leon was just what they didn't need. Sure, there were times when he was all about teamwork and friendship, but he was never exactly close to any of his friends, even though they'd all known each other since their days at Hollow Bastion. Ever since Hollow Bastion had been taken by the Heartless, his old self had been taken along with his old name.

"Oh! Sora's in town isn't he!" She gasped suddenly, remembering the whole point of being up here.

Riku glanced at her. "Yeah. What d'you need him for?"

"I want him to teach me to fly!" She answered simply.

"Excuse me?" He raised an eyebrow. His eyes flickered with laughter.

"Fly! He can do that gliding thing and I want him to show me." Yuffie didn't let his amusement daunt her enthusiasm. Just because he was a Leon clone didn't mean she couldn't have her fun.

"Oh." Riku nodded, clearing his throat. "Well, he's around here somewhere. Probably off with Kairi-" He cut off his sentence and looked down at the distant ground, attempting to make it sound like he had actually finished his sentence.

"Did they finally get together? Took 'em long enough, don't you think?" Yuffie exclaimed gleefully, completely missing the expression on Riku's face. "I told Squall after I first met Kairi, I said 'You watch, those two are meant for each other!'" Yuffie laughed…until she caught sight of Riku. He was silent, staring in front of him blankly. "Is something wrong?"

He looked at her. "Hmm? No. I'm fine."

Yuffie didn't believe him at all, but she didn't push it. With Leon, she would have pushed it. It was then she realized what exactly she _had_ heard about Riku. He was the one that had retrieved Kairi's body and attempted to find her taken heart. Was it possible that… "I'm sorry…was there something between you two?" She asked quietly, knowing full well that she was nosing into his business with no right. But that had never stopped her before, why would it now?

Riku smirked. "There was nothing between us." He answered darkly. "There _isn't_ anything between us."

Yuffie bit her bottom lip and turned her own gaze away. The finality in his voice was rather…final. She'd already gotten on his bad side? But he was cute! It was times like these she wished she was more like Aerith. Magnetic, gentle, sweet, charismatic, beautiful…and she was simply Yuffie, short, plain, and annoying.

"So, you said Squall. Who's Squall?" Riku changed the subject suddenly.

Yuffie looked up at him with wide eyes, surprised that he hadn't stalked off or told her to mind her own business. "I. I meant Leon. I call him Squall accidentally sometimes."

"He's got two names?" He asked. He seemed to come to life now that the conversation had shifted from Kairi and Sora. This only made Yuffie more suspicious.

"Well, yeah. When Hollow Bastion was attacked, Squall felt like it was his fault he couldn't save it or something like that. That was when he changed his name to Leon." She shifted to face him, focusing all of her attention on her new friend. "Just between you and me, I think it doesn't have a thing to do with Hollow Bastion. It has everything to do with the fact that he lost Rinoa."

"Rinoa?"

"His ex-girlfriend. I mean, most people would eventually get over it right? Not Leon. He's too busy mourning _her_ to even think about seeing anyone else." She rolled her eyes. "Not that I care or anything."

Riku smirked. He stretched his arms over his head. "If he was really in love with her, it's not something he could just get over. Not eventually. Maybe the name change was a little dramatic, but you have to go easy on him."

Yuffie wrinkled her nose. That didn't sound near as fun as torturing him about it. The conversation, already strained, really died after that and it stayed that way for a good 5 minutes until Yuffie got tired of waiting again, especially when there was nothing to wait for. "If only I could already fly, I could just jump off right here, instead of having to go down the ladder and through the shop." She sighed, leaning over the edge again to cast a wistful look at the ground.

Riku reached out for a split second as though he was worried she would fall. She giggled at him and he blushed again. "Eh." He grumbled, clearing his throat as he got to his feet. "I think I'm gonna go see if I can find Sora-"

"Oh I'll go with you!" Yuffie chirped. She grabbed his hand and pulled herself to her feet, grinning at the stunned look on his face. "How about that race?"

"Race? Oh that…" Riku crossed his arms over his chest, glancing at the ground. He didn't want to, but he didn't want to turn down the challenge either. "Why not?"

"Alright, any rules apply. First one to the First District doors wins?"

"You're on. Ready? Go." Riku shot off, reaching the ladder before she could. He thought he would have a decent headstart, when he felt something whiz by his head. Yuffie grinned at him from the platform below right before jumping off of there and grabbing hold of the roof of the neighboring building. "Hey! That's cheating!" He yelled, jumping the rest of the stairs himself. He landed painfully on his feet.

Yuffie dropped to the ground stealthily and stood still long enough to spout off, "Any rules apply. Better close your mouth and get to runnin'." She then rocketed toward the open area of the district with a dangerously maniacal laugh.

She used one of the benches as a launching pad and kicked off, gaining considerable air, more than enough to clear the wall and (painfully) hit the hotel wall. She barely had enough time to say 'ow' when the Gizmo Shop doors crashed open. She looked behind her with an 'eep' and was surprised to already see Riku racing toward her.

_Damn_ he was fast! She let out a peal of laughter and sprinted for the finish, running as fast as she could. His heavy footsteps were right behind her and still gaining speed. With the last of her adrenaline, she made a mad dash for the humongous wooden doors. She hit them with surprising force, ricocheting backward and right into her adversary.

"Oof!" Was all he could manage, stumbling back. He managed to keep his footing, but not his breath. While she struggled to breathe and keep from laughing hysterically he was leaning over the barrier, coughing.

"Are-are you okay?" She wheezed.

He made a thumbs-up sign. It was impossible to detect any sarcasm through sign language so Yuffie trusted that he was not dying. Reassured that both of them were going to be fine, she couldn't hold back the laughter any longer. It burst out of her like Mr. Grey himself.(2)

Riku glanced at her from his uncomfortable position on the wall, grinning reluctantly. "You…cheated." His voice was hoarse.

"I won." She argued as soon as she finished rolling with laughter, smoothing her hair. "And I didn't cheat. Any rules applied, remember? But I'd be glad to give you a rematch if-"

"No! God please no." Riku held up his hands as though warding off evil. She giggled. "That was…fun. I haven't done that since…a long time ago. It feels like forever ago. For a second there, I was almost a kid again." He straightened, pushing his hair out of his face. It was so long and perfect…Yuffie wondered if it was as soft as it looked. Leon used a lot of hair gel in his, but Riku…she'd have to remember to ask him what he used. They walked into First District together.

"Being a kid is fun! I personally don't ever plan to grow up and I'm 17 but…different strokes." Yuffie smiled when he laughed. He had a nice laugh, she decided. Nice and deep. Sort of like Leon's, except better.

_What's with all the Leon comparisons?_ She asked herself. The best she could figure was that Leon was the only real male role model she had in her life. (Cid? Please.) Didn't they say that girls usually picked guys that were like their father? Ick. Leon as her father figure. How twisted was that?

"Maybe I'll take you up on the rematch offer someday-" Riku began as he pushed the Accessory Shop doors open. Something he saw on the other side stopped him cold.

"What is it?" Yuffie asked, opening them up all the way. She quickly saw for herself what it was. Or who it was rather. Apparently, they had interuppted a public make-out session courtesy of Sora and Kairi. The two were no longer locked at the lips, but they were still too surprised to move out of each other's arms. "Oh. My. Um. Uh, I-you-we-uh-sorry."

That split them up. Sora turned his head, trying to discreetly wipe off the lipgloss he had inadvertantly aquired. Kairi flattened her red-brown hair. She was blushing uncontrollably.

"Sorry." Riku broke the awkward silence and turned back to the district.

"Wait Riku!" Kairi cried, running forward. He threw his hands up and shook his head, heading around the corner toward the Second District again. Yuffie looked after him, confused. He seemed…angry. No, hurt. But why would he be hurt over that? It was just an honest…Oh.

Something in Yuffie's mind clicked. _'If he was really in love with her, it's not something he could just get over' Kairi! Oh my God, he was is love with Kairi! _Yuffie thought. Sometimes her own lack of common sense amazed her.

"Yuffie…" Sora smiled. At least he had the smarts to look ashamed. Yuffie would have tackled Sora if she hadn't been so preoccupied with her most recent epiphany.

"I'll go check on Riku." Kairi sighed.

"No." Yuffie said suddenly. "I'll go." Two pairs of bewildered blue eyes looked at her. She stood there for a second longer, wondering how to explain before just giving up and tearing out the door to follow Riku's trail.

_----Riku---- _

He shuffled along the ground, kicking stones out of his way. He didn't understand why that had upset him so much. It wasn't unexpected, since they were in love and all. He just wasn't ready to see it yet. He didn't want to deal with it yet.

He heard someone enter the district and cringed. It was one of three people, all of them he didn't want to face right now. He just wanted to think things through and talk himself out of this funk. If it was Sora, he could just ignore him. If it was Kairi, he'd have to be polite at least. If it was Yuffie…he hoped especially it wasn't Yuffie. He had actually liked Yuffie and the last thing he wanted was for her to see him like this.

"Riku! Hey wait up!"

It was Yuffie. Riku sighed but slowed to a stop to let her catch up. "You should just go back-"

"Shut up." She completely ignored him. "You're in _love_ with Kairi?" She asked incredulously. He stared at her. She was definitely hard to read, completely random, and didn't take requests pretty much ever. And he couldn't help but like her anyway. "With _Kairi_?! Please tell me you aren't."

"I'm not."

"Thank you." She exhaled noisily. "I like the girl please don't misunderstand, but _you_ can do so much better."

"Better than a Princess of Heart?"

"Well…yeah." She paused, her dark eyes darting behind her as though paranoid someone could hear her. Riku hid his smile. She had just made him feel a little better without even trying. "But you were in love with her, weren't you? That's why you took up for Squall when I said he was all mourny."

"Leon." Riku corrected.

She placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Don't _you_ start that." She warned, a smile tugging at the edges of her mouth, despite her attempts to be serious. Riku couldn't stop his own smile from creeping onto his face. What was it about her that made him let go. Her bouncy personality was so infectious and so becoming of her...

What was he thinking? He was just confused. He didn't know how to deal with the crazy feelings jumping around inside him…so it would be expected for him to be attracted to the first pretty girl he met. He shook his head, the smile disappearing. "Look, really. You should get out of here. I've gotta think about some things-"

"You mean brood and sulk about walking in on your best friend's groping spell." She rolled her eyes. "_Gah_ sometimes you men just drive me crazy. Leon does the same stupid thing! When are you going to learn that keeping it inside and pushing everyone away isn't going to fix anything! Until you do something about it-"

"Have you been in love?"

"What?"

"Have you been in love?" Riku repeated, taking a step toward her.

Yuffie stepped back automatically, looking up at him. "I-I don't know. I've really liked someone before, but love is such a strong-"

"I _did_ something about my love for Kairi. I tried the only way I knew how to get her heart back! I couldn't be Sora and play Keyblade Master! Doing something didn't work-"

"Oh whine about it why don't you? Blah blah blah! Did it ever occur to you that you weren't destined to be with Kairi? Did you ever think about that? There's someone else out there for you obviously! It all happens for a reason! Eveything is planned!" She stamped her foot to emphasize her point.

Riku closed his eyes and let his hands curl into fists. She'd known him for all of half an hour and suddenly she knew who was right for him and who wasn't? She just didn't get it! He opened his mouth to argue another futile point when he felt a pair of thin arms wrap around his neck and pull him down a few inches. He opened his eyes just as Yuffie's lips pressed against his and…he simply stood there, completely numbed.

"Mmmph?" He was unable to make any words out, just a murmured attempt. Yuffie didn't seem like she was planning to let up and Riku found he was glad, returning the kiss, deeper, stronger, feelings bubbling up that he hadn't felt since before Kingdom Hearts. Why was _she_ doing this to him, of all people? He'd only felt this way when he thought of Kairi…and Yuffie was so infuriating and lively and beautiful and…

"I take back what I said earlier." She whispered, backing away very suddenly. There was a good distance between them now, enough to keep either from jumping the other. "That was _not_ planned."

Riku, now that her intoxicating aura wasn't obstructing his ability to think straight, was able to feel surprised, ashamed, embarrassed…and deliriously happy all at once. Just as long as she didn't know that, he would be able to maintain some dignity. "Uh." _Some_ dignity.

"Ignore that. It never happened."

"No! No, I mean, we…it doesn't have to be like that." Riku cleared his throat and avoided her eyes. "I didn't mind."

"You're confused and hurt and…I took advantage. I'm sorry. I'm very sorry. And I don't apologize very often." She lowered her eyes and backed away even further, nervously wringing her hands. "And if Leon finds out!" She gasped suddenly. "Oh he'll kill you!"

"Me?!" Riku exclaimed. "You kissed me first!" There was a silence.

"Well yeah…" She snickered. The hotel doors again and in response, both Riku and Yuffie jumped further apart and put on what they hoped were innocent expressions. "Speak of the devil." She muttered.

Leon and Cid walked out, both wet and both looking extremely aggravated. Leon saw Riku first and then looked at Yuffie. He didn't say anything to either of them as he passed and headed to First District. Cid held back, glaring daggers at the younger man. "I could kill him, if I didn't think he would kill me first."

"What're you two fighting about now?" Yuffie asked.

"Hmm?" Cid looked at her and shook his head. "Nothing. Nothing important. What're you kids doing out here? Besides yelling?"

Yuffie's eyes widned. "You heard us?"

"Who didn't?" Cid sniggered.

Riku exchanged silent glances with Yuffie and shrugged, leaving the explaination up to her. "Just yelling." She said quietly. It didn't matter though; Cid was too busy grumbling derogatory statements about Leon again. He walked off toward the Gizmo shop, still talking to himself like a crazy person. Riku looked after him until he was out of sight and shook his head.

"Urg, anyway. Are you okay now?" Yuffie sighed, putting her hands on her hips once again. She looked at the silver-haired knight patiently, waiting for him to answer.

"I think I'm good."

She clapped her hands together, satisfied, and smiled brilliantly. "Good! Well, I'm hungry. You wanna go grab something from the Café?" She offered her hand to him. He could tell the gesture was purely platonic, nothing more than friendly feelings encasing it. It reminded him so much of Kairi.

Riku stuffed his own hands in his pockets. "I'm not really hungry right now. Besides, you needed to talk to Sora and I think I'll just go for a walk and-"

"Nope you're coming with me. The flying can wait. We can get better aquainted and _you_ can talk. Contrary to popular belief, I'm a really good listener!"

"_You_ can be quiet long enough to listen? I seriously doubt that." Riku smirked.

Yuffie's jaw dropped in mock offense. "I'll have you know-" She was cut off by his laughter.

"Alright, I'll talk if you'll listen. Didn't you say you're paying?"

"Did I say that?"

"I think you did."

"Hmm." She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment, before smiling again. "You drive a hard bargain, Riku-kins." She giggled, turning on her heel and flouncing off toward the Café.

He gazed after her, slightly dumbfounded. If he thought Selphie was bad, Yuffie was going to be a hundred times harder to keep up with. Supposing he stayed long enough to get to know her, that is. Something told him that wasn't going to be much of a problem.

"Uh? Yuffie?" He called, jogging to catch up. "About this 'Riku-kins' thing…"

_---_

_The End_

_----_

_----_

A/N: 1. Ku-ri is mystic-angel1's. Thanks for lettin' me borrow it!!

2. Mr. Grey is from Dreamcatcher, if any of you have seen. He's the ultimate alien…and his accent rocks my world.


	2. P a r t O n e

_A/N: I am attempting the unattemptable! I am writing a TOTAL cliché all around! A Valentine's Day bashing/'aw'ness AND sick fic fluff story! Bow to my cliché-ness! _

_6 months after the last chapter, this takes place._

_And we're off! To the story…_

_z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z_

Valentines Day. Blah. It was one more day to wallow in sadness about your single status and drown your sorrows in tons of heart-shaped chocolate and red and white ice cream. This worked until the next morning, when you'd wake up 5 pounds heavier with a stomachache.

I was not a fan of Valentines Day.

But this year would be different for me. Did I have a person to share the day with? No. That was what I was going to celebrate! For all those stupid lovebirds out there, they could have Valentine's day. The rest of us would have ourselves a Singles day. Besides, I was going to spend the week on sunny Destiny Islands, where Aerith and Cloud were going on their honeymoon. Squall, because he was and always had been a big grumpyhead, decided to stay back in dark ol' Traverse Town. I was not about to miss this opportunity to see Sora and Kairi and Riku again. It had been almost 6 months since they'd came to see us in Traverse Town.

"Are we there yet?" I bounced, tucking my feet underneath me in the seat. All I could see out the window was vast, blue ocean and cloudy skies.

"We're close." Aerith yawned. She'd slept the whole way.

I sat back with an impatient sigh, imagining what I would do first when we got there. Of course I'd have to say hi to my friends and maybe get set up in the hotel room I was going to have, but I was _so_ going swimming. I'd never actually been in the ocean before so I was thrilled. I'd swim, spar with Sora occasionally, and get a tan, all the things that I couldn't do in Traverse Town.

Unfortunately, when we did reach the beach the sun had fully disappeared behind gray storm clouds. Cloud landed the ship right on the shore, actually doing a good job for an inexperienced driver. I let out a squeal of excitement and immediately jumped up from my seat and rushed for the door. After a lot of fumbling with the many locks, and undergoing serious teasing from Aerith, I got it open. I then proceeded to stick my tongue out at the brunette honeymooner and dash out onto the beach.

I saw Sora running toward me, wildly waving his arms. "Heeeeeeey Sora!" I cried, pulling my shoes off and tossing them into the gummyship as I waited for him to reach me. I planned to be barefoot for the remainder of the week. He practically tackled me, his stupid grin the same as ever. He'd grown much taller, now taller than me, and he didn't seem to be quite as thin and gangly as he'd been when I'd seen him last.

Sora released me to go say hi to Aerith and Cloud as they climbed out of the ship. It didn't take 15 seconds for Kairi to show up either. In fact, I had only gotten a few steps toward the water when she yelled my name. I turned and waited for her to reach me too. 'How are you's and hugs were exchanged. I began unbuckling my shorts in the middle of my 'I'm fine'. I didn't think much about it until Kairi gave me a strange look.

"Uh…hehe." She giggled nervously. "Whatcha doin' Yuffie?"

I glanced down and pulled my shorts down and completely off. "I'm wearing a bathing suit – see?" I sniggered, showing off my new green swimsuit. It was the second one I'd ever owned and I'd just bought it yesterday.

"Oh but it's going to rain." Kairi said with a glance up at the murky cement-like sky.

"Well yeah but I'll be wet anyway." I shrugged, backing up as I spoke. I turned as the cold water rushed around my ankles, causing me to shiver. It didn't stop me from continuing to wade further until the water was at my waist. I laughed gleefully and looked back toward the shore.

Sora was laughing at me. "We're going to my house okay? Just around the corner!" He called, pointing toward a large, ship-like structure surrounded by trees. I nodded and gave them a thumbs up, watching as they marched off. I may have been alone but I was still loving it. I quickly forced myself to go under and when I came back up, I gasped. The air that had felt so warm before was now cold against my wet skin. I bobbed back down, submerging my body up to my neck in water.

"Brrr." I shuddered, glancing at the ocean bottom. My feet looked as wavy as a flag on a windy day beneath the blue-green ripples. Small, curious fish darted periodically between my ankles. I laughed when one grew bold enough to touch my hand with its fishy lips before scurrying away to safety.

"Having fun?" A deep, familiar voice called. I looked up, straightening. I knew it was Riku right off, even though he'd changed considerably since I'd seen him 6 months ago. His silver hair now reached his shoulder, Squall's length, and still looked as perfect as ever. He probably spent more time on his than I did on mine…though I really didn't spend much time on my hair as it was. But that was beside the point. He wore a smirk, tan, corduroy shorts, and a black t-shirt that gave occasional glimpses of a six-pack when the wind blew the right way. I noticed he was barefoot too.

I squeaked and rushed toward him (though the water had considerably slowed me down) and pounced. "Riku-kins!" I cried jokingly, pulling a Sora and tackling him.

He groaned. "I thought we talked about that…hey! You're completely soaked." He muttered, awkwardly embracing me.

I snorted. "Well _duh_, I'm in the ocean." I pointed out obviously as I grabbed his wrist. "Come on, swim with me." I half-ordered.

Thunder, because it absolutely hated me, chose to crash at that moment. Riku glanced grimly at the sky. "We better get inside before this starts." He argued, not budging at my attempts to drag him in. I gave up and let him go.

"Oh who _cares_ about rain?" I groaned, splashing him. He tried to shield himself but the attack dampened his shirt.

"I'll swim tomorrow, not now." He shook his head and buried his hands in his pockets. I frowned at him but eased back into the warm water and looked up just as the first few beads of rain began to fall.

"Uh oh…you better run. Wouldn't want you to get wet." I said loftily, shaking my hair out. Water sprinkled around me.

"Come with me then, before you get sick. It's too cold to be in the water." He had to raise his voice as the rain began to fall in huge, loud drops. Lightning raced across the clouds, followed by a deafening clap of thunder. I jumped. Maybe it _wasn't_ the smartest idea to be frolicking in miles of open water under a huge, electricity filled sky.

I dashed out of the water and grabbed my pile of clothes from the sand. "Run." I yelled, laughing. I would've taken my own advice only I didn't know _where_ to run. When I realized this I turned abruptly (which is retrospect was pretty stupid) and looked up at him. The rain was pounding against my skin, cold and hard. "Where do we go?" I yelled.

He pointed forward and said, "My house is through those trees." He grabbed my upper arm before I could look for myself and led the way. I bent my head to keep the stinging raindrops from getting in my eyes and followed his steps blindly. Once in the protection of the leaves, the rainfall seemed to subside somewhat. "My house is closer than Sora's right now." He stated simply, expertly twisting through the many trails on this path. "We can wait there until this slows down. It won't take long; these sort of showers never do."

I nodded even though he couldn't see me and pushed my sopping wet bangs out of my face. I was too pumped to mind. I wanted to run and play in the downpour like I had as a child. It was my first experience on an Island or near an ocean, what did it matter if it rained? Soon enough we emerged on another shore, lined with large wooden houses. Riku guided me up the stairs of the nearest one and opened the unlocked door. "Whoo." I breathed as he closed it behind me. "That was fun!"

Riku gave me strange look, wiping the water from his brow. I just laughed again…until I realized I was practically flooding his perfect hardwood floors. Riku saw my panicked expression and chuckled. "I don't care. It's just water. Why don't you dry off in the bathroom?" He smiled at my hesitation. "Go ahead, really. I don't mind."

Since I was virtually shivering to death and half-naked, I agreed to let him lead me to the bathroom. He'd opened the door for me just as I became aware of the fact that the clothing I had been clutching in my hand was thoroughly soaked. Riku followed my gaze and cleared his throat. "That's right…you'll need clothes." He padded down the hall without another word, leaving me unable to argue or follow.

I scowled at my reflection. I should have crawled into the gummyship for safety. At least there I had a dry pair of _my_ clothes. _Nice second impression Yuffie. Who knows, maybe the drowned rat guise is a turn on. _I thought sardonically. I was in the middle of glaring at myself when I heard Riku walking back down the hall. I quickly reached under the sink to grab a towel (where else would towels be?) and wrapped it around me so that I didn't look like I was expecting to be waited on hand and foot.

"This will probably swallow you." Riku said, offering a pair of sweat pants and a white t-shirt.

I accepted them with a smile. "Not a problem, it's great." I answered honestly, pulling the towel up over my chest with one hand. It was white and fluffy. The towels at the hotel were ugly and flat. I liked his towels. "Um, kinda gotta change now." I said after an uneasy moment. Riku, who'd been standing in the doorway awkwardly, now came to life and began to apologize. He pulled a towel out from underneath the sink and disappeared down the hall again. I figured he had two bathrooms or something.

Quickly I closed and locked the door and dried myself off as best I could, forced to leave on the damp bathing suit. I would have gone commando if I'd had my own clothes but it was different when they were Riku's. Besides, it would only be a few minutes before the rain would stop and I'd be able to go hunt a change of clothes in the gummy ship.

I couldn't help but snicker at myself in the mirror when I was finished. The shirt hung loosely around my narrow shoulders and fell shapelessly past my waist. I had to triple knot the strings of the sweat pants to keep them from sliding off which had created a ruffling effect underneath the bottom of the shirt. My hair, half dry now, was a lost cause. I ran my fingers through it a few times in hopes of straightening the tangled mess. A _total_ lost cause.

I squeezed the water out of my own clothes into the bathtub, gathered the damp towel, and set out to find the laundry room. I wandered down the hall, wondering at the size of it. For someone who lived on his own, this house was huge. The living room itself was the size of Aerith's _and_ my hotel room and I'd yet to see the kitchen. The hallway was full of doors. It was the perfect set for a music montage for the scooby doo gang. I peeked through most of them, finding uninteresting things like bedrooms and closets, though I found it interesting that each room was neat and tidy. Riku must have been a closet cleaner (no pun intended).

I reached the end the hallway and looked in the last room, immediately knowing it was Riku's. Not because of the way it looked, but because of the wet clothes discarded in the middle of the floor. I knocked lightly on the door, pushing it open all the way. The walls were completely white and bare without posters or pictures or anything. A pitiful looking dresser sat in the corner, half of it the same color as the walls and the other wooden. A lone silver picture frame sat on top of it, portraying a recent picture of Sora, Kairi, and Riku. Beside the dresser, underneath the only window in the room, was a small, unmade bed. All in all, it wasn't what I was expecting.

"Riku?" I called, waiting at the door. It didn't feel right to just barge into his room without his knowing.

"Yuffie?" The door behind me opened suddenly, nearly giving me a heart attack. Riku grinned.

"Oh ho ho that's a good way to get your downstairs cut off." I tried to sound even remotely serious, grinning despite myself. "Where's your laundry room?" I asked before he could make a snide remark. I held up the damp towel.

"Ah, I'll take that." He said. "That's a good look for you by the way." He nodded to my grunge-esque outfit. I was very proud of myself for biting my tongue. I could have sounded very ungrateful if I'd said anything. He laughed at my fake smile, knowing just what I was thinking.

I trailed him down the hall, where he unloaded the wet clothes and towels in the laundry basket, and then into the living room. The rain had slowed from torrential downpour to a light shower, lucky for us. "Oh we can go to Sora's now!" I pointed out the window.

Riku looked outside and then at me. "But it's still raining. We just dried off."

"So?" I gave him an exasperated look. "You are the most non-spontaneous person I know. Well, better make that the _second _most non-spontaneous. Leon takes that gold." He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, silent. "Don't give me that look." I grumbled. "Fine. We'll stay here until _you're_ ready to go. Can I sit here?" I asked, pointing to the loveseat.

"No." Riku answered swiftly. He laughed when I moved toward the recliner instead. "It was a joke. You're worse than Kairi." He shook his head, falling back onto the white couch.

"You're a funny one." I muttered, eyeing him. "Speaking of funny, what's with all this white? You strike me as the all black, leather ridden bad boy type." I gestured to the white carpet, walls, and furniture.

Riku examined the large room quietly. "My mom decorated it. She liked everything to be white and clean and open. And my father just didn't care one way or the other what it looked like."

"Oh…well where _are_ your parents?"

"Don't know. They didn't come back after Kingdom Hearts."

"So…you've just been living here alone for the past like, year?"

"Yup." Riku nodded. "I would redecorate but…don't have the time or patience or motivation. Besides, I've had enough darkness in my life. White is…nice." He grinned at the same time I did. "Soul-baring moment, don't ruin it." He warned before I could get a word in. Ooh he was a fast one.

"I wasn't gonna ruin it!" I said, narrowing my eyes at him teasingly. "I was just gonna say, if you ever wanted to redecorate and needed that feminine touch, you could always just contact the Great Ninja Yuffie." Self-promotion was not the incentive for this offer, if you could believe it. In the short time I'd known him, I had very unfortunately developed a teeny tiny crush on ol' Riku-kins. Therefore, knowing I lived a bunch of worlds away _sucked _really _really_ badly. Any excuse to come visit would be a very welcome prospect.

"You did say '_feminine'_ touch…right?" Riku squinted at me. I take that back. He could wallow in his white voidy-ness all he wanted, see if I gave a rats- "I'm kidding, I promise." He chuckled, chunking a frilly throw pillow at me.

I caught it easily and studied it with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, you might wanna consider that redecorating idea a little more seriously." I told him mockingly before rapidly hurling the pillow right back at him.

He hadn't been expecting it. "Ack!" He cried as it smacked him in the face. I threw my head back and laughed maniacally in response. "You'll regret that later." He warned.

"Oh really? Bring it." I said cockily, sitting Indian style on the sofa cushion. We then held an impromptu staring contest for the better half of a minute. Finally, I saw the corners of his mouth start to twitch, which in turn caused my own to do the same. We were both about to lose it just as the storm gave its last hurrah and sent a blinding bolt of lightning through the sky. The lights went out seconds later.

"Great." Riku's voice came from his motionless shadowy outline.

"I bet you blinked first."

"You have what they call a 'one track mind'."

"I do not! I'm just competitive." I argued.

"Well, be competitive and find a way to get the lights back on."

"What'd be in it for me?"

"The ability to see."

"…Except I don't know how."

"To see?"

"To turn the lights back on, dorko. It's your house, remember?"

"Did you…did you just called me dorko?"

"Sorry, I meant Riku-kins."

He let out a loud snort. "Nice, Yuffie." I watched as he got to his feet and walked through the semi-bare living room to disappear into what I assumed was the kitchen. I heard him banging around for a few minutes before he finally returned with two lit candles. "I'll fix the lights later, after the rain passes." He explained, strategically placing the candles on the coffee table for maximum lighting.

He sat back on the couch again. My eyes had adjusted to the dark now and with the aid of the candlelight I could make out his face almost completely. He was looking at me. "Hey, you're a bad host." I realized out loud.

"What? Why?"

"You were just in the kitchen and you didn't even offer me a drink!"

There was a pause. "I didn't? Well, do you want one?" He started to stand back up.

"No thanks. I'm not thirsty."

He looked at me oddly, trying to figure out if I was serious or not. "But you just said…"

"You're supposed to offer is all. I don't actually want anything." I shrugged. I couldn't figure out why he seemed so confused when I thought my logic was absolutely clear and justifiable. He stared at me for a long time before finally shaking his head to himself and walking away. He vanished into the kitchen once again, bringing about more banging, and when he came back with two bottles of water he tossed one to me. I caught it easily. "Thanks." I said, letting it fall next to me. It was cold against my leg.

All he would say was, "Hmph." He was obviously still wondering about my sanity but didn't know how to voice his worry.

Any other time I would have argued that I was perfectly sensible in a silly, unusual sort of way but I happened to glance out the window at that moment instead. My one-track-mind sent me off on a whole 'nother tangent. "Hey! Look, it's just sprinkling now." I stated brightly. I could go swimming again, it was still early afternoon! The sun was beginning to peak through the clouds and in turn through the living room window.

Riku glanced outside too and nodded. "Looks clear. Just in case, I've got an umbrella if you want it." He leaned down to blow out the barely used candles.

I just looked at him. "I like the water." I said simply, hopping to my feet a little too quickly. Sitting on them had left them numb and the sudden rush of blood felt like a thousand tiny needle pokes.

"Okay, fine. Rain it is." He shrugged, a half-smirk just visible. I didn't get what he was grinning at but I didn't think to ask either with my one-track-mind and all. I was too excited to be getting to visit with Sora and the others and getting to go back into the ocean.

I practically dragged him out the front door, completely barefoot and clad only in his clothes, and back out into the drizzle. "Now. Where's Sora's?"

z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z

"Just give up, it'll be easier." I taunted Sora, watching from the safety of the dock as he and Cloud sparred on the sandy shore. Though that seemed like an unfair fight, Sora had been able to more than hold his ground against the blonde warrior and had even won a couple of rounds.

Sora never took his eyes off his opponent as they silently stalked each other, calculating their next moves, but he did yell, "Your turn is coming, Kisaragi."

"Oh I'm so scared-" My voice jumped an octave on the last word as Cloud lunged forward, his blade clanking against Sora's. The blonde quickly went on the defensive as Sora began a routine of slashing and smashing. I noticed Aerith was watching this was much more apprehension that I was, which was unusual. She always seemed pretty calm when Cloud and Leon would train. It surprised me that she was actually supporting this little fight, since they were on their honeymoon and all. Maybe since they'd only been here since yesterday and there was still a week of vacation left, she wasn't too worried.

We watched them fight for another good 5 minutes before Sora finally collapsed in exhaustion. "Man…I must be out of shape…" He panted, shaking his head.

Cloud let his sword slip to the sand as he sat down, massaging his fingers. The fight had been long and draining for them both, though Cloud would be the last to admit it.

"Thought you were gonna save some of that for me." Riku appeared behind me. Sora glanced up at him to wave half-heartedly and then fell backwards onto the sand with a loud groan. "Pathetic." Riku sighed. He nudged my lower back with the toe of his shoe. "What about you? Up for a beating?"

I scoffed. "You wanna play with the Great Ninja Yuffie?" I had to twist my torso around to look up at him. He grinned cockily.

"Nope!" Sora's hand shot up though he was still lying flat on his back. "I get to beat him first!" He informed us.

"But you're practically dead." I told him, kicking a bit of sand in his direction. It fell short by about 6 feet.

"I am _resting_! I am not dead."

Riku jumped off the dock and walked over to his friend, looking down at his face. "Wooden swords then." He said suddenly, as though he'd just made an important decision. As if in response, Sora's keyblade dissolved into a ton of tiny sparkles. Riku headed for the shack where I knew they stored their training weapons.

Cloud stood and lifted his long, wrapped blade to his shoulder and walked over to the dock, the safety area. He sat next to Aerith, who wrinkled her nose. "You're all sweaty." She muttered in distaste. He smiled.

I turned my attention back to the two boys as they prepared for fighting, both with old, wooden swords in their hands. Sora had come back strong after downing a few potions and was busy sizing up his new adversary. Riku was doing the same. Sora was the impatient one in this match and he made the first move. Foolishly in my opinion. I had sparred with Riku once before in Traverse Town when they had last come to visit. I had very quickly learned that Riku needed to make the first move. He was very good at interpreting body language and if given the smallest amount of leeway, knew just where he needed to block and strike. Sure enough, Riku slipped just enough to the right that Sora's sword slipped past Riku's left side. And the fight began.

The battle was interesting at first, rarely slowing and a close race with each hit. Unfortunately, the style of fighting was tedious. Stab, stab, fall back, kick up, stab, stab, twist, stab, fall back, kick up, repeat pattern until bored to tears. After a few kicks to the gut, one would think Sora would learn to move out of the way when Riku went into recoil mode. Alas, he did not which further proved my theory that the poor boy wasn't all there psychologically.

As Riku went back into one of these stances, something unusual happened. He lost his balance and fell backward onto the sand. Sora seemed to forget he was in the middle of an intense battle and took a step toward his friend, his sword falling limp at his side. "Hey you okay?" He asked, almost smiling. He was concerned but he was still amused that never-fail Riku had fallen. I had the same conflict.

Riku sat up, looking dazed. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm good." He said and accepted Sora's hand. Sora pulled him to his feet before quickly backing away and rasing his sword defensively, as though paranoid that this was all a ploy to catch him off guard and then slaughter him in the middle of his altruistic moment.

"You sure? You look a little defeated." I shouted, beaming as he glared at me. I shrugged and tried to look as innocent as I could.

"C'mon man, let's go." Sora called attention back to the competition but grinned at me over his shoulder. Riku just nodded, clearing his throat. Whatever had thrown him off was still bothering him. The two boys went back into battle, a little less intense than before, but still fighting fast and hard. It was obvious Sora was hesitant and it was even more obvious that Riku was becoming frustrated.

"Don't hold back Sora." He stepped out of the battle stance, standing straighter.

"I'm sorry but you musta hit your head during that fall. Your game is off." Sora sighed.

"Because you're holding back." Riku argued, tapping the tip of his sword against his shin absently.

"How about a break? Anyone else as starving as I am?" I suggested as I hopped off the dock and strolled over to the boys, fingering the sharp stars in my belt. Sora said yes, mentioning subtly that Riku should take a breather too. I waited for him to consent, which he did after a moment, before turning on Aerith and Cloud. "What about you two? Up for lunch?" The couple looked at each other. "And by lunch I mean _actual_ food. Not afternoon delight." I added. Snickers erupted behind me.

Aerith gave me a frustrated look but Cloud ignored it. They decided to go off for lunch on their own, like I'd expected, leaving the guys and me to fend for ourselves. We sauntered toward Sora's house, dragging our feet. "What're you getting' Kairi for Valentines Day?" Riku asked Sora, grinning at him o ver my head.

Sora sucked in his breath and groaned. "I don't actually know yet. She hasn't mentioned it…so I don't know what she wants or wants to do or doesn't want to do or…I hate this holiday."

"I second that statement." I raised my hand to put my two cents in.

"How can you hate Valentines Day? You're a girl and girls get the easy part. They get to _get_ the gifts." Sora said rather bitterly. He swung his timber sword in front of him between two fingers like a pendulum, his cerulean eyes following the movement.

I scoffed. "That's assuming you have a guy to get you the gift in the first place. What about the girls, take me for example, that are valentine-less and are therefore pitied the entire day because our arms aren't laden with roses and heart-shaped chocolate boxes." I looked at both men evenly before continuing. "And I'm not asking for sympathy I'm just telling it like it is. That's why I've decided to have a Singles Day, to celebrate people like me and Riku who don't have anyone special in their life."

"How do you know I don't have anyone special in my life? I could have a valentine for all you know." Riku asked resentfully. He turned away for a moment and sneezed into the crook of his arm.

"Bless you and if that's the case, who is she and why haven't I met her yet?" I placed my hands on my hips.

"Yeah, and why haven't I met her at all?" Sora added.

Riku gave an exaggerated sigh. "I'm being hypothetical here. I _could_ have a valentine. I don't know why you assume I'm as pathetically alone as Yuffie is. Don't get me wrong, I _am_ as pathetically alone as Yuffie, but you don't have to assume that."

"I am _not_ pathetically alone. I could have any guy I wanted any time I wanted. Guys are just difficult and I don't want to have to deal with 'em right now." I exclaimed proudly, though I knew it was much less than true.

"Guys are difficult? Guys have one thing on their mind the majority of the time. And that's food." Sora waved off my comment like it was ridiculous.

"Exactly. And we can't figure out what you girls want either ya know. One minute you're happy and the next you're crying because…because you think you're fat. Us guys are simple creatures; we don't deal well with that sort of thing." Riku was not about to let me 'win' this argument.

I snorted. "Got the simple part right." They both glared at me. "Not all girls are like that, for your information. I'm not! I think I'm pretty easy to deal with. The ideal girlfriend, really. I don't mind gettin dirty and I love to fight and play sports as much as the next guy, and I obviously don't fuss over my hair or make-up or my weight-"

"Well that's because you don't have to! You're pretty without even trying." Riku interrupted.

Sora and I both stopped walking at the same moment, at the same step, and looked at him. While I stood sort of stunned at the unexpected compliment, Sora had the grin of all cheesy grins plastered on his face. "Heeeeeey Riku…" He began mischievously.

Riku glared at him. "I'm sorry." He said at me, not meeting my eyes. "I'm just sayin, Valentine's Day is not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Jewish people don't hate Christmas, why should single people hate Valentine's Day?"

"That's totally irrelevant! That's like…comparing a moogle to a paopu." Sora chuckled.

"It's not!" Riku disagreed. "It's a perfectly legitimate-" He turned his head to sneeze once again.

"Bless you." Sora and I said in unison.

Riku waved his hand in front of his face impatiently. "This is pointless. Let's find a different argument." He suggested, defeated.

I looked to Sora, grinning impishly. "Fine. But that still leaves the question of what you're getting Kairi."

He groaned again. "I still don't know. Flowers? Candy? Stuffed animals? The normal thoughtless stuff that never fails?" He hauled himself up the front steps of his house and pulled the key from his pocket to unlock the door. "Maybe if I took her to dinner or something. Think she'd like that? Or I could _make_ her dinner."

Riku shot down the proposal instantly. "Uh, better not go with that idea. Go out if you're thinking about dinner. Never attempt to cook again."

Sora scowled at him. "It wasn't that bad-"

"You burned the macaroni and cheese, Sora."

"You _burned_ mac and cheese?" I cackled.

"No!" Sora tried pitifully to cover his tracks. "I didn't burn it, I just-"

"_Burned_ it to the bottom of the pan." Riku finished, trailing inside last and shutting the door.

"Not all of it!" Sora threw his hands up, letting the sword fall from his fingers. "I give up! What am I supposed to do then?"

"Aw Sor," I sighed as I leaned down to pick up the dropped weapon. "You'll figure it out eventually. You've got four more days after all." I tried hard not to laugh and make him feel worse as we followed him into his living room. Times like these I didn't feel so bad about my single status. In fact, I relished it. Relationships were full of stress, stress I didn't need. I was perfectly content to just continue to crush on Riku freely but secretly and never have to worry about things like Valentine's Day.

"Hmph." Sora replied.

I turned to Riku and brandished the pointed, splintering wood. "Prepare to die." I said ominously. Riku responded by sneezing for a third time. "Or not." I lowered the sword and turned back toward Sora, shrugging.

"You sick?" Sora asked, gathering two empty glasses that had been sitting on the coffee table. His house was more liveable than Riku's had been, though much smaller, it was much more colorful and eclectic. And it was messy, which I could relate to very well. He had mentioned his parents living on another part of the Islands, so this house must have been his own.

"No I'm not sick. Allergies or something like that." Riku grumbled, collapsing onto the couch.

"Never had allergies before…" Sora muttered under his breath before heading into the kitchen. Riku mimicked him softly, rolling his eyes. "What do you people want to eat? Raid my fridge for all I care, whatever you find you can have." He called over the sound of water running in the sink. At this, Riku got to his feet and almost sluggishly headed for the kitchen.

I grinned and bounced into the kitchen behind him. "Don't have to tell me twice."

_z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z_

_A/N: Alrighty. So. Because I absolutely SUCK when it comes to deadlines, this VALENTINES DAY one-shot will not be finished until AFTER Valentines Day. Does anyone else find the preceding sentence as hilarious as I do, not because of the Valentine's Day issue, but because I still called this a one-shot? Anyway. This will just be a bunch of Yuriku one-shot like fics, sometimes coming in two-parts…except they all sort of follow each other time-frame wise. Well anyway…_

_Reviewer Thanks:_

_October Breeze: Well if you DO decide to write a Yuriku…I will be ecstatically happy forever._

_Qwicksilver: YES you should write a Yuriku! Ya know, you were the one that first got me interested in Yuriku's with Life As We Know It. Will that be updated anytime soon by the way? _

_Natsu-Aoki_

_Dclick_

_Deplora_

_NeonRaine_

_The Evil Leprechaun_

_Prismatic Doll_

_Kirakayano_

_Bracken-Fae_


	3. P a r t T w o

_A/N: This isn't exactly my best but…oh well. The hippo…well, it's a long story. Speaking of long stories, this is an extremely long chapter! …don't expect too many of these. _

Treacherous Lovelies – P a r t T w o 

"How totally _not_ fair is this." I muttered to myself, glaring down at the gray sweatshirt Aerith had forced me to wear. It was Cloud's so it all but swallowed me. At least it was warm…and it smelled like Cloud's cologne, which was pleasant enough. I put the sleeve against my nose and inhaled, loving the spicy scent. Despite those pros, I still hated having to wear it. Of course Destiny Islands would experience the coldest cold spell in Island history the week that _I_ got to visit.

Did I mention that this was so not fair?

At least the night was clear. The sky was black and dotted with shimmering stars, decorations for the full, silvery moon. Every once in a while a chilly breeze would sweep past, whispering through the leaves, rippling across the calm surface of the ocean, brushing around the sands. Everything was serene and quiet, the only light coming from the illuminated moon. This entire place radiated tranquility.

But it just haaaaad to be cold, didn't it.

Not soon after, I heard the crunching of sand a short distance behind me and glanced over my shoulder. It was creepy how the glow of the moon reflected Riku's hair. They were almost the same color, the moon being a little whiter and Riku having a blue tint when seen at the right angle. He didn't say anything as he approached and I didn't volunteer anything. I turned away to look at the ocean's horizon again, listening as he got closer and closer until finally he stretched out on his back beside me. I glanced down at him, smiling. He smiled back. Still we said nothing.

As I pretended to be interested in the view, I sneaked glances at him out of the corner of my eye. What was he thinking about anyway? What was he doing out here at this time of night? I was just bored and a little bit strange but what was his excuse? I kept waiting for him to say something but he didn't…so I didn't. If he wasn't gonna talk then why should I? I was a big talker but he shouldn't have been taking my conversation starting skills for granted. He could make a little effort too, ya know?

"It's driving you crazy isn't it? The silence." He said quietly. My head swiveled in his direction. He was wearing that smirk on his face, the one that made me want to bury him alive and dance on the grave. "You're fidgeting." He added as though that explained everything.

I quit twisting the wrists of the sweatshirt and brought the sleeve to my nose again, glaring at him. "I was not." I told him insolently. The sound was muffled.

He was such an all-knowing smug little bastard. Sometimes. "Okay." He shrugged. Once again, the war of 'who talks first' began. He'd lost the first battle and I was going to be sure to win again. At least, I _planned_ to win. After about 5 minutes I started to lose the point of the game and began to get a little restless. I had returned to the inner bashing of Mother Nature, hoping that tomorrow would be warmer. I really really wanted to swim.

Beside me, Riku sneezed. It must have been the millionth time today but he was still denying any explanation other than 'allergies'. "Ya know. You kinda sound like a wounded hippo." I informed him conversationally, only vaguely aware I'd failed to make him talk first.

He gave me a strange look, which I answered with a laugh. "'Bless you' would have worked fine too." He replied, shaking his head at me.

I grinned childishly. "Insulting you is more fun. Just blame it on the weather."

Riku glanced at the shore of the ocean, his lips curling into a half-smile. I could tell he was plotting something and got a little worried. Sure, I could come up with some nefarious little scheme anytime of the day but nothing _too_ potentially dangerous. Last time Riku plotted something, muchos darkness ensued.

"You know," He began. "This would be the perfect time to go for a swim." I could tell by his tone that this comment was purely a joke, no hidden intentions or challenges included.

But did I let that stop me? "You're right! We should swim!" I exclaimed, already jumping to my feet and pulling at my sweatshirt.

Riku's eyes widened. "No, Yuffie. Its called sarcasm."

"Oh come on! You promised yesterday you'd swim with me today and you've only got a few more hours before that promise ends up broken!"

"Nope. Sorry. I'm not keeping the promise." He tucked his hands behind his head defiantly and looked up at the sky.

Yeah. Like I was gonna give up that easily. "What happened? The stories I've heard about you say you used to be the ultimate risk taker. Grown boring in your old age?" There were many approaches to take with Riku. I had the feeling he was more of a closet competitor, whereas I openly saw an opportunity to 'win' in pretty much everything. So, goading him with the age-old 'chicken?' tactics would have to work.

He breathed heavily in my direction and glared. "_You_ can swim. I'll watch."

"Oh _that_ didn't sound perverted or anything." I rolled my eyes and pulled the sweatshirt over my head. Underneath I wore a white tank top that was really too thin to be considered anything but tinted cellophane. Goosebumps rose all over my bare skin. I could handle a little cold. After all, I did live in Traverse Town. No sun _ever_ had practically made me a penguin. Kinda.

I busied myself with my shoes, trying to come up with another way to get him to swim with me when it hit me. (Okay so I can't take credit for all the brilliance since it was Riku's sudden coughing fit that started the idea.) "Oh that's _right_!" I set the ingenious plan in motion. "You're sick! We wouldn't want you to get _worse_ or anything." I turned toward the ocean with just enough dramatic disappointment. I should have won an award.

Riku growled. "I know what you're doing. I used to do it with Sora." He replied.

Not breaking my character, I glanced at him over my shoulder. "I'm not _doing_ anything. Was it the 'sick' comment that got your hair on end? I'm sorry, how's this? We wouldn't want your _allergies_ to get worse." _Work. _I silently willed him to fall for it as I stepped into the water. It was _freezing_ but I was not about to chicken out after my groundbreaking performance.

The sound of Riku getting to his feet was the thing that brought me out of my routine. I grinned as he slipped off his shoes and pulled his shirt off over his head. "I hate you." He told me seriously. I was grinning too hard to reply. Even though he _knew_ I was baiting him he fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

I was _damn_ good. I should have written a book or something.

Anyway, he walked into the water without so much as a twitch and once he was deep enough, went under. Not to look like an absolute hypocrite or, more importantly, be outdone, I also frolicked out into the open water and wet my hair. When I surfaced though I quickly realized I'd made a big mistake in getting Riku to swim with me. Here I was, out in the vast ocean, in the dark, and _he_ was nowhere to be seen. I looked around, half-expecting him to pop out at me. He didn't and I started to get a little uneasy.

It didn't feel so bright tonight anymore. I, being Yuffie, was too proud to admit any fear out loud and knew that somehow he was playing a joke on me. To save face, I pretended that I didn't care he had gone MIA and began to swim even futher away from shore. The air and water had switched places again, the water warm and the atmosphere chilly. I kept the majority of myself underwater and rested when I reached a safe distance. I could just touch the bottom here and didn't want to go much further.

I did another quick, inconspicuous sweep of the water, hoping for a flash of silver. It didn't occur to me that he could have been hurt or anything. I just suspected this was a prank to get me back. There was no way he could stay under this long, knowing he'd have to come up for air eventually, and when he did, I would know. I must have stood watch for nearly a full (eerily silent) minute before starting to get the smallest big worried.

Suddenly I felt something grab my waist and yank me under. I reflexively twisted around and kicked the attacker as hard as I could. My foot came in contact with flesh and I was released. Riku and I surfaced, both coughing and gasping. "For cryin' out loud, why'd you kick so hard?" He grumbled, swishing through the water to be in the front of me.

I gave him the nastiest look I could manage. "Why'd you have to scare me? I'm not a practiced swimmer ya know! I could have drowned!"

"You wouldn't have drown. You'd float just like the rest of us." He argued, rolling his eyes and pushing the hair out of his face.

I was finally starting to calm down, the adrenaline rush slowing. "You're so gonna pay for that." I informed him. The water around us rippled as we simultaneously began to wade toward the shore.

"That _was_ payback for dragging me into this."

"You're a big boy. You could have said no." We both knew this wasn't exactly true. Sure he _could_ have said no but but would I have _let_ him say no? I highly doubted it. One way or another I would have gotten him to swim. I turned around and began to push through the water backwards, slowly, enjoying the rush of water. It was nice now that I was in it – as long as I didn't stand up and face the cold. Something a fair distance away caught my eye. A little bump above the water. "Hey what's that?" I asked, following it with my eyes as it bobbed around.

Riku glanced at the object after I pointed and answered, "Probably a shark."

I shot straight up, staring at Riku. "A what?" I asked sharply.

"A shark." I must have looked like I'd been slapped (I felt like it) because Riku laughed. "Relax, they usually don't get much closer than that. I was in the ocean probably everyday back when we were kids. No shark attacks, I promise." He looked pretty calm himself, which made me feel just a little bit better.

I was still within a mile of these legendary man-eaters though and that knowledge had ruined my experience completely. I slipped back into the water and quickly began to swim in reverse, keeping my eyes on the distant fin. It didn't look like it was getting any closer. "Are you done swimming?" He asked incredulously, increasing his own pace to keep up with me. "After all the talking you did?"

"With all _your_ talking, you never mentioned a _shark_."

"It's an ocean, Yuffie. What did you think?"

"I didn't."

"As usual." He chuckled smugly. I glanced over at his arrogant grin and relaxed backstroke. He was annoyingly laid back. Without giving him any warning I leaped over and bounced on top of him, effectively pinning him under the surface. Of course, I _let_ him throw me off of him since I wasn't aiming to actually drown him. He bobbed up for air to find me laughing my head off. He deserved that one and he knew it. "Splashing attracts sharks." He warned as he shoved his sopping wet bangs out of his eyes again.

"I'm a ninja. I can run fast." I shrugged. Truth was I was only confident in the water now because I was only waist deep in it. If need be I could haul ass out of there and leave Riku to defend his own turf. One would think after battling a ton of heartless and proclaiming myself the Great Ninja Yuffie, I could handle the thought of a measly little shark. I guess everybody had his or her weakness.

As Riku laughed at my remark, I took the opportunity to let my gaze linger on him a little longer than I probably should have. If only I could pinpoint ol' Riku-kin's weakness…

_z-z-z-z-z-z-z_

"T-that had to be the most monumentally stupid t-thing I've ever done. And that's saying a lot." Riku growled under his breath as we continued our frozen journey toward his house. I was supposed to be staying at the hotel on the other side of the island with Cloud and Aerith (I decided to start calling them Clerith for short) but that was a long, cold distance away. Besides, Riku had offered.

It was a rather pitiful scene between the two of us, both drenched and shaking. I clutched Cloud's sweatshirt in my arms tightly, mainly because I was too cold to actually move any part of my upper body enough to put it on. "You will do foolish things. The trick is to do them with enthusiasm." I quoted, unsure of where I'd heard it but knowing it was exceptionally appropriate for the moment.

"Try saying that again _without_ the shivering." Ever since he'd gotten out of the water, he'd turned into a great big Leon-like grumpyhead.

"This is something we're going to look back on and laugh about! We just created a memory here dude!" Okay, so my cheerfulness was driven _partially_ by my avid desire to aggravate him but the other part of me did feel sort of alive. Our private swim was something I'd never done, would never do again, and would never forget.

"What we probably _created_ are two cases of pneumonia."

"I swear you are not the same Riku that Sora tells stories about. What happened to you?" I sighed and shook my head. Cold drops of water splashed on my shoulders and arms. The question wasn't necessarily meant to be rhetorical but he took it that way and didn't answer.

We emerged from the trees out to the row of houses. I followed Riku to his and did the same routine, drying off and changing into his clothes. I really kinda liked being in his clothes. They were big and comfortable, worn and soft, just like guys clothes were supposed to feel. I waited in his living room while he changed, walking around and looking at the few things he had placed around the space. It was amazing how bare it was in here. Few scattered pictures of his friends, much like the ones in his room, sat around the room.

I picked up a particular frame that interested me; it was of his parents. They looked to be happy people, posed in front of the ocean. Riku definitely had his father's build, but he looked much more intellectual and…well, kinda nerdy. He wore glasses and had smooth, gelled, dark hair. He was dressed in a Hawaiian print shirt and khaki pants, a smile on his face and his arm around his wife.

Riku's hair and eyes were obviously inherited from his mother. She was in a bright yellow sun dress and wore a large, straw-brimmed hat and looked every bit the doting mother and loving wife. She had the sort of smile that caused her yes to crinkle around the corners, the kind that made you smile too.

They seemed so normal in the picture. So much like the parents I had wanted when I was growing up, instead of having to make do with the other orphaned children at Hollow Bastion. Still, the picture made me curious as to why Riku mentioned so little of his parents when they looked so conventional.

Luckily (or unluckily) Riku succumbed to a rather nasty coughing spasm before he reached the living room, giving me enough warning to put the picture back and perch myself on the couch as discreetly as possible. He left the hallway a couple seconds later, still hacking up a lung. "Don't like, die or anything." I said, concerned for him now that I didn't have to be concerned about being caught snooping. Though technically I wasn't snooping since the picture _was_ out in the open for all to see…but this was beside the point.

Riku didn't seem to appreciate the comment, even though the intentions were good, and chose not to answer. Chose...wasn't physically able…whatever. When he did catch his breath, he collapsed onto the love seat (we'd seemed to switch places since last time I was here) and groaned. "I'm fine." He said. It was a little too belated to actually be reassuring.

I snorted. "Are we still going to use the allergy excuse then?" I was only teasing but I wasn't sure if he caught it.

"Nope." He chuckled grimly, catching the sarcasm. "I believe I'm past allergies. Thanks in the most part to you."

"Me?" I repeated, feigning innocence.

"Well, first you got me soaked and freezing two days ago and now you've got me soaked and freezing again. And somehow through it all, I've managed to catch the cold from hell and you're healthy as ever."

"And this is my fault?"

"It's easier to blame you than just accept it." He answered as he fell onto his back to look up at the ceiling. I had to give him that much.

"Well," I began thoughtfully, waiting until he craned his neck to look at me. "There's this thing called 'cough medicine'." I accentuated the words with air quotes. "If you don't have any, I can call Sora or Kairi and see if one of those two have any. It's wonderful stuff, this 'cough medicine'. Knocks you out like _that_." I snapped my fingers to illustrate the rapid power of the miracle syrup.

Riku smiled and pulled himself to a sitting position again. "I don't think I have any. I don't usually get sick…but…sleep. That doesn't sound half bad does it?" He asked, glancing at me.

I squinted at him. "For the old or sick it doesn't sound bad. For perfectly healthy, young, vibrant girls such as myself _it's wa-ha-hay_ too early."

Riku groaned loudly. "Enough with the smart remarks already! I'm too fuzzy to make sense of it, much less make a halfway clever comeback." He complained.

His words struck a guilty cord in me and the conversation sort of hit a stand still after that. I could tell he was getting increasingly tired during the silence and I figured I was wearing out my welcome. Maybe that 'sleep is good' comment had been code for 'get the hell out'. "I'll call Kairi first to see if she's got any medicine, since she's most likely to have it." I only told him my plan because it was courteous. He could have argued if he wanted but it wasn't going to change anything. I'm sure he knew that by now.

He grunted in response, which from experience with Leon I took as 'whatever', and headed into the kitchen to find…no phone. I hadn't seen a phone in the living room either. "It's in my room." He called out, realizing my dilemma. I gave him a thumbs up as I passed into the hallway. At the end I found his room, exactly the same as before minus clothes in the middle of the floor. The phone wasn't white, shock of all shocks, but green. And not just green. A horrible, lemon-line/day-old vomit green. Had I mentioned that he had wonderful taste?

Having found the phone, the first hurdle was jumped. I then became preoccupied with hurdle number two. "What's her number?" I called down the hall, holding the phone up and ready to dial. He was silent for a few seconds.

"It's on the fridge." He said finally. There was a grin in his voice. So I took the ugly cordless back into the kitchen, where a slip of paper was held in place on the fridge by a sunflower magnet. Kairi's name and number were first on the list, followed by such names as Sora, Tidus, Wakka, and Hu Lee's Chinese Delivery Service. Yuck. He liked Chinese food. I had to be the only person I knew that preferred pizza over sweet and sour chicken.

I dialed Kairi's number and hopped onto the counter, my sock-clad feet swinging above the floor. It ran a couple of times before she picked up. "Hello?"

"Kairi? It's Yuffie."

"Oh hey! What are you doin'?"

"Oh not much. This may seem kinda strange but…I was just calling to see if you had any cough medicine lying around."

"Are…are you at Riku's? It says his name on the caller ID."

"Yeah I'm here. He's not feeling great tonight."

There was a pause. "Riku's sick?"

"Yeah." Why was she having such a hard time with this?

"Run. Yuffie, run as far as you can." She giggled. Confused, I didn't answer. "Um, never mind. I'll be over with it in a couple of minutes." She was still laughing to herself. I said okay and hung up. Sometimes she could be really weird.

I put the phone on the counter and jumped to the floor. "I'm gonna wait outside for Kairi." I announced, returning once again to the front room. He hadn't moved much since I'd seen him a few minutes ago and he didn't move much now.

Outside the air was still cold but it didn't seem as harsh as it had when I had been soaked. It was as though the fresh air kick started my mind. It hit me how out of the ordinary this whole thing was for me. I actually _cared_ if Riku was sick, hurt, alive, upset…if Leon had come down with even the slightest sniffle I probably would have called him a baby and left to play target practice.

And if we wanted to get even deeper into oddities on my part, we could rewind to six months ago when I met him, raced him, and kissed him within a course of two hours. This dude could have been a cult leader if he wanted – he had the charisma of Irvine Kinneas, without the lecherous, assholic predisposition.

How did I know Irvine? An old friend of Leon's that once showed up for a visit. Of course, he'd only been able to make one move on me before Leon pinned him to the wall and threatened to make him eat his cowboy hat piece by piece if he so much as looked anywhere but my eyes again. Yeah…Leon was just a little protective of me.

Anyway, back to Riku.

"Hey Yuffie!" Or not, whatever. Kairi's small frame hurried toward me, a bottle in her hands. I walked down the porch steps to meet her. "Here, hope this works." She offered the medicine, her trademark smile as genuine as ever.

"Oh thanks. It outta knock him out."

"Yeah you better hope so. He doesn't admit he's sick very often but when he does, he has the tendency to be a really big baby." She giggled, looking up at the brightly-lit house.

I glanced at the bottle. "Really? Riku? So…then I should give him a lot of this stuff and shock his system out of the cold?" I grinned.

"No, just give it to him normally. And then get out. I would go see him but I don't want to get stuck playing nurse."

"So you're gonna leave _me_ to play nurse?"

"You're ten times more strong willed than I am. You can tell him no." She answered. Suddenly her face lit up like a firefly's behind, a sly grin flitting across her face. "Well maybe you _shouldn't_-"

"Thanks. Kairi." I cut her off quickly, knowing just what she was going to say. She shrugged and I waited until she disappeared back down the dark path before I went back inside. I couldn't help not liking the girl, I just didn't. Something about her got on my last nerve. "Okay Riku-kins! Let's get you drugged!" I made a detour in the kitchen to get a spoon.

Riku chuckled when he saw me. "You seem so much like a mom right now." He muttered.

I suppose he hadn't meant it as an insult but it still kinda hit home. Aerith was the mom, Cloud was the scary one, Leon was Mister Grumpyhead, and I was immature. And being called a 'mom' by the guy you've got an enormous crush on isn't exactly an ego booster. But I took it with a grin and played if off, just telling myself I was being weird. Besides, didn't guys like girls that were like their mom?

"Here, take two teaspoons and I'll wait til you're asleep before I leave." I ordered as I handed him the supplies. What? Did you think I was gonna spoon feed him? Trust me, I may have been lovestruck but I sure as hell wasn't about to baby him. A big boy could take care of himself.

"Leave? Where you going?" He asked, unscrewing the lid.

"To the hotel."

"It's really dark out there and a long walk."

"I can handle it. Great Ninja Yuffie." I struck a pose, flexing my undersized muscles.

"Why don't you just stay? I've got plenty of room, two guest rooms and all. You could even have your choice." He grimaced over the first swallow. I felt for him; the stuff was nasty.

"No thanks, I can walk."

"I _want_ you to stay."

"I _don't_ want to stay."

"I don't have to care what you want; I'm the sick one here." He took the second swallow better than the first and put the lid back on.

"And in about thirty minutes this stuff will take effect and you won't know if I'm here or a million miles away." Logic. Logic was fun when it was on my side. To be honest, I wouldn't have minded staying but many cons prevented me from saying yes. Things could be assumed by other people (I.E. Kairi), things that were assumed could become a reality, or it could just make our relationship weirder than it already felt. It was just easier to say no.

Riku stood up while giving me a discouraged look. "Then I'll walk you there."

"Hey Mr. Valiant Knight Dude," I caught his eyes and said very seriously, "Knock it off."

He found that funny for some reason. I took the bottle from his hand and read the back to see how much more I could give him without permanently putting him in a coma.

Adults 12 and older – 1 tsp every 8 hours 

"_One_ teaspoon." I grinned, winking at him. "You're gonna be sleeping for a long time, Riku-kins."

He stretched. "Sounds good to me."

I hesitated when he headed for his bedroom, wondering what I was supposed to do. Follow? Stay? Leave? I'd almost decided to sneak out when he glanced at me over his shoulder. Of course, he didn't say anything because that would have been too easy. "I think I'll stay in here and I'll um, check on you in a while and if you're asleep then I'll go ahead and leave but I'll stay until then to make sure you don't like, stop breathing or die or something." Was that me? Had I just rambled on like a complete and total idiot? Where was Sora to fill in the gaps when you needed him?

"You act like I'm some psycho serial killer." He grinned, turning to face me fully. "I don't bite."

"I know its not that, it's…it's just sorta weird." I shrugged. My mind howled at me to return to normal. _Abort crush! Abort crush! _Was its repeated flashing message. I needed to be Yuffie again, and fast. "I mean, with how it would look and all. Me in your clothes _and_ spending the night…you can imagine what the silly might think." I put my hands on my hips and smirked. There we go. That was me.

"I understand. Whatever you want to do is fine with me. If you do leave, be careful." He shrugged and walked off. A whopping internal battle with myself followed. Eventually I gave in and walked down the hall, dragging my feet and swinging my arms like a limp noodle, wondering why in the world I wasn't just running the other way. I straightened before I reached his room so that he wouldn't see my immature behaviors.

"I've come to suffocate you with a pillow." I informed him flatly. A grin worked its way onto my face and contradicted my statement. I had initially wanted to sound serious but we all know how that goes. He laughed, in turn triggering a coughing fit. The cold had hit him fast…or maybe he'd just been good at hiding it.

I found myself perching on the end of his bed with my feet tucked underneath me. The fact of the matter was I planned to stay the night. And if anyone chose to speculate…well, I was good at sniffing out blackmail too. Riku began talking about the good old days as soon as he was breathing regularly again, something about the last time he had the flu.

I really kinda only half-paid attention to his ramblings since they were, in fact, ramblings. The rest of my attention was focused on him in general. Thinking about his hair, his voice, and his personality. So he wasn't exactly Mr. Perfect (he'd been evil once and that deducted a few points…only a few…) but he definitely wasn't all bad.

He seemed pretty easy going, if not a little distant at times, and he wasn't one to just open up without a lot of coaxing or cough medicine. He was as competitive as I was and without a shadow of a doubt just as (if not more) dangerous. I kinda thought he was a bit of a romantic (and a hopeless flirt) at times, but that was hidden a little deeper than most of his traits.

It wasn't until I heard quiet snoring that I realized Riku was finally asleep. I grinned down at him conspiratorially, reveling in the discovery that he snored. Leon had been almost unbearable to sleep around at first, what with his tendency to suck all the oxygen out of the room. He'd also been a talker while asleep. It had scared me at first but after a while I embraced the problem and found many excellent ways to use it against him. Riku just didn't seem like the snoring type.

"Night Riku-kins." I whispered, carefully crawling off the bed so not to disturb him. I pulled the opposite side's comforter over to cover him up and waited to see if he noticed. He remained still. I fleetingly considered sleeping next to him but wisely decided against it. I didn't want whatever he had and I definitely didn't want him to wake up to find me fast asleep beside him, especially when I couldn't explain or defend myself. Nope, the couch was for me.

I shut his door and found the hall closet, where he had earlier mentioned blankets, and pulled a warm looking yellow one out. Riku had no happy medium it seemed. He either had dull, colorless things or bright, vivid things. He was desperately in need of a decorator. I wouldn't have been so weirded out by the house if it had looked more like a 'bachelor pad' and not so bare-and-boring clean.

Hell, even a beer can thrown behind a chair would've made me feel better. Riku was so…not a kid. He was only 18 yet he seemed 40. I was going to have to snap him out of his old guy ways and help him be his age. Somehow, getting Riku drunk off his ass seemed like an interesting and promising scheme.

I wrapped myself in the blanket like an egg roll and flopped onto the couch, burrowing deeper into the fluffy, yellow tunnel I'd created for myself. I'd be up with the sun and out of here before he knew it. That was my plan. Tomorrow I'd have that battle with Sora that we'd been threatening to have since I'd gotten here. I'd whip him good (especially when I surprised him with my glide ability. I'd been practicing) and then I'd go for another swim, assuming my good friend Mr. Great-White-Sharp-Teeth was long gone of course.

It occurred to me that I'd left the overhead light on but now warm and comfy, I found I didn't want to move. My eyes closed on their own and soon after I fell asleep.

_z-z-z-z-z-z-z _

"So…you're telling me…" I panted, my hands resting against my knees as I gasped for breath. "That tomorrow is Valentine's Day and you still haven't planned out the date with Kairi?" I knew this hadn't been the reaction he'd been hoping for but what advice could I have given him at this point that would have helped?

"It's not that I haven't thought about it. I just don't know _what_ to do!" He complained from his sprawled out position on the sand, his little wooden sword resting across his stomach. "Tidus is doing the whole romantic sunset picnic bit with that Yuna girl, and Selphie is going out with the tattooed guy-"

"Tattooed guy?"

"Yeah, the one with the blonde hair. Short, loud, annoying? Starts with a Z…Zell I think. Anyway. Even Wakka's got stuff planned with Lulu-"

"Oh, gothic 38DD! She's kinda scary." I interrupted again, flopping down on the sand with my legs out in front of me.

"She _is_ one mean lady…but she keeps Wakka in line." Sora sat up and brushed the sand from his hair. He was a little red in the face, a combination of sunburn and relentless competition. I knew I probably looked the same way. Sora was better at the hands-on up close fighting, while I was faster and fought from a distance. He was undoubtedly a better combatant than I was (though I'd be _damned_ before I'd admit it to him) but my ninja abilities made us pretty equal opponents. It was hard to come out of a battle between us without having to call it a draw, such as the case was today. The two of us had fought until we were forced to give up and settle for the satisfaction of a good workout.

"What does any of that have to do with you and Kairi?" I asked, playfully tossing a handful of sand at him. It showered against his shoes.

"Well obviously I can't do the same thing they're doing. I gotta be original. If this isn't special for her, well, she's not gonna be very happy with me. I mean, Selphie's always filling Kairi's head with all this idealistic crap and having her read those sappy romance novels. Tell me, how do I compete with that?" He pitched a cluster of sand right back at me. It sprinkled down into my hair and down my shirt.

"Sora!" I protested and flung another heap back at him, this time aiming for the face. He shielded himself with his arm, laughing. "You don't compete, you compromise. Read one of those novels and reenact something from it. C'mon, you've been friends with the girl for practically ever; you gotta know some sort of fantasy she has." I pointed out. He replied with a blank expression. I sighed. "You really are hopeless."

"I know. Maybe I should enlist Riku for help." Sora scratched his head thoughtfully. "He's good at that sort of thing."

"What sort of thing?"

"The romance stuff. He and Selphie used to tease us all about the Paopu fruit back in the day, talking about legends and destiny and stuff like that."

"The Riku I know? Riku-kins?" I exclaimed.

"_Riku-kins_?" Sora found the nickname hysterical. "He…he actually _lets_ you call him that?"

"He couldn't stop me if he tried." I couldn't help but grin. Sora's reaction was even better than Riku's had been. "Though I'd advise _you_ not to call him that. He might try to kill you."

"I'll be sure to do it soon, like while he's still drugged up on cough medicine." Sora was a little slow on the uptake sometimes but, just like anybody, he could be fairly devious.

"Yeah, on that note," I shifted, crawling over to sit closer to him. "This makes day three he's been sick, isn't it. Don't cha think he shoulda been better by now?" I purposely kept my eyes away from Sora's; I didn't want to make it seem like I was too terribly worried.

Sora shrugged. "I'm sure he's fine."

"Myabe we should stop by today and check on him. I mean, if you want."

"Oh, I uh, I talked to him…this morning. He's okay, he just not um…better." This time Sora was making it obvious to avoid _my_ eyes. The numerous 'ums' were a dead giveaway to conspiracy and I immediately got paranoid.

"He's okay? Then why are you so weird?"

"Weird?" Sora's eyes snapped to mine temporarily then darted away again. "I'm not being weird, you're being weird. But that's okay…cause I know why." He coughed in a pathetic attempt to hide his grin. Of course, I saw it anway.

My feathers now sucessfully ruffled, I demanded, "Why am I weird?"

This time Sora's grin was so hugely obvious that people worlds away couldn't have missed it. He leaned cloer to me and whispered, "You _like_ him."

I reared back and started at him incredulously. "What? Is that what you think?" I laughed, doing what I thought was an excellent job of covering up my amazement at how absolutely right he was.

Sora held his hands up and shook his head. "Hey, whatever. It's your life."

Ooh. Sometimes he was just as exasperating as Riku. I conjured up the meanest, most evil, most menacing glare I could possibly muster and fixed it on Sora. "How do you know?" I hissed, giving up on the hope of hiding it. I'd just have to threaten him within an inch of his life if he even so much as breathed a word of it toward Riku, that was all.

"Well to be honest, I kinda didn't know until Kairi mentioned it-"

"_Kairi_ knows!" I exclaimed, letting my head fall into my hands. "_Please_ tell me _Riku_ isn't aware of this too." I whined.

Sora cackled, nudging my shoe with his. "He…he doesn't know about _your_ crush." He answered, carefully calculating each word.

Once again I started getting suspicious. I squinted at him from over the protective shield of my hands. "You're saying something…"

"I'm not."

"You are! What are you hiding? So help me Sora, I'm a good aim." I waved a shuriken warningly.

"It's nothing! Not a thing at all…so hey isn't it time for lunch? AreyouhungryI'mhungry." He ran his words together in a pathetic attempt to divert my attention.

The only way that would have worked was if he'd put something shiny in front of me. "That's it. I'm going to talk to Riku right this-"

"No. No, don't. Not yet. Let's call him first and _then_, if he's up to it and then we'll all grab some lunch, eh?" Sora grabbed my wrist to keep me from running off. I knew I was cornered.

"Fine. We can call him." I allowed grudgingly. "But I _know_ something's going on and I _will_ find out." I frowned. As soon as Sora released me I jumped to my feet, gathering as much dignity as I could and wiped off my backside, turned, and headed toward Sora's house with all the determination of a cat stalking its prey. I _would_ figure it out.

_z-z-z-z-z-z-z_

_Ring…ring…ring…_

"Hello?" Riku's voice reverberated throughout Sora's living room from the tiny speaker. He sounded better than he had the last time I had talked to him. It had been my great idea to put him on speakerphone.

"Hey! Riku! How are you feeling?" Sora jumped in before I could. I decided this was a good idea. I mouthed the words 'I'm not here'.

"You mean…since you talked to me earlier-"

"Yeah I figured you were still feeling pretty rough but Yuffie wanted to find out for herself. Yuffie's here with me too, ya know; you're on speakerphone." Sora cut in once again, winking at me.

I rolled my eyes. Though I was mentally thinking of ways to seriously injure my keyblade carrying little friend, I cheerfully greeted Riku with, "Hiya Riku-kins!"

"Oh. Hey Yuffie…" He sniffed.

"Yeah, we were just talking about coming over there. Are you hungry?" Sora leaned down closer to the speaker and turned up the volume. For some reason, I was even more suspicious of them all. Especially Sora.

Riku quickly replied, "Oh no, I'm doing pretty well myself and uh, I don't want you to catch this. I'm uh, I'm coughing up all sorts of nasty stuff and I-I haven't showered in two days and I keep…keep…" He sneezed loudly. "-Augh, doing that. It's just not a good deal right now. But thanks for offering."

"Not a problem, Riku-kins." Sora was now purposely being evil to him. Well, as long as it wasn't directed at me, all was well. Riku cleared his throat. "Just kidding." Sora told him quickly. "Though that _is_ an interesting nickname." Now _that_ was power. All Riku had to do was clear his throat and Sora knew he meant business. I'd have to learn this technique! Riku didn't say anything and since I (obviously) didn't know _what_ to say, so that left Sora to make the move.

"Okay well, feel better." Sora concluded right before picking up the phone and cutting off the speakerphone (cutting me out of the conversation too) and turned away from me. "Yeah, I know…I know…I won't…Riku, I've gotta go. Yuffie and I are gonna go eat…yeah…whatever sounds fine. Bye." Sora put the phone back on the hook. I fixed my eyes on him questioningly and waited until he finally worked up the nerve to fully look at me.

"What was all that about?" I asked evenly, carelessly, casually.

Sora raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "That? Nothing." He shrugged, tossing the practice sword onto the couch. It slid over and slipped partway into the cracks. "Why are you so concerned about it? Huh? Huh?" He wrestled me into a headlock and gave me a rather painful noogie. I brought my knee up and kicked him in the small of his back just hard enough to get him to let me go. I leaped backward with a satisfied 'ha', straightening my now messy black hair.

He changed the subject to lunch. I gave in and didn't press the strange behaviors any further, surrendering to ignorance. We left his house and headed for Providence, hoping to track down a couple of hot dogs somewhere, already planning new ways to challenge each other. By the time we reached the shores of the bigger, busier island, we'd already bet munny on who could get to the restaurant fastest, who could eat the most hot dogs, and who would throw up first.

Whoever said vacations were more stressful than they were worth had never vacationed with the Great Ninja Yuffie.

**z-z-z-z-z-z-z**

**I n t e r m i s s i o n**

**Tired of reading? Take a break! Come back and read the rest later!**

**z-z-z-z-z-z-z**

The hall of the Hotel was abnormally quiet. Usually there was some sort of racket, maybe a blaring radio or the sound of water running while someone took a shower. This morning it was void of any life at all. For some reason I didn't find this as unusual as I should have. I had other things to think about. This morning I'd made up my mind to tell him that I loved him. I didn't want to keep playing along with the charade any longer; it was time to own up to the fact that I, Yuffie Kisaragi, the greatest ninja to ever grace the worlds with her presence, was madly in love with him.

I kept repeating that to myself under my breath until the words seemed like nonsense. Just before I reached the Green Room, a door a couple feet ahead of me opened and a familiar face appeared. "Hey Donald! I didn't know you were staying here!" I greeted cheerfully, waving at the intelligent yet unintelligible duck.

"There is no spoon." He replied crossly and retreated back into his room, slamming the door.

I didn't take it personally since I knew he had always been a bit bad-tempered. I forgot all about Donald as soon as I realized I had stopped in front of the door. I took a deep breath. My heart picked up speed as I felt the fresh wave of tension roll through my stomach and swallowed. It wouldn't be that hard, right? This wasonly_ Leon_, after all. The same Leon that I had known since the days at Hollow Bastion, the same Leonthat had fought beside me and protected me through it all, the same Leon I had slept in the same bed with for years now, the same Leon that I would trust my life with.

This was also the same Leon that had called me names like 'brat' and 'ignorant', that had childishly shut us all out of his private life and changed his name as soon as we reached Traverse Town, that would probably laugh and tell me I only had a silly crush when I admitted my feelings for him. And yet I still loved this man?

Damn these hormones.

The very moment that I worked up the nerve I pushed the door open quickly so as to prevent myself from chickening out. I failed to slow it soon enough and cringed as it collided with the wall behind it, generating a loud crash._ Yuffie strikes again._ I thought to myself, smiling nervously as the familiar person sitting on the bed turned to look at me.

The scenery around me changed rapidly. Sunlight poured in through the windows, casting golden rays throughout the bare white room. He stood up, dropping the journal he had been writing in on the bed behind him. I couldn't seem to bring myself to do anything except brush my damp bangs from my eyes. Wait…damp? I looked down to find that I was soaking wet, from hair to squishy, soggy shoes. "Hey, Yuffie." He said casually, as though it was no big deal that I'd just slammed my way into his room, looking like a human fish.

"Hey Riku, do you think I could borrow some clothes of yours?" I asked, forgetting to worry about how I had went from being dry in Traverse Town to being dripping wet in Riku's house.

Riku nodded. "No problem." He walked past me over to his closet and began digging around in it. I noticed his room smelled sweet like maple syrup. It reminded me of something I was supposed to do. Something sweet…something I was supposed to say.

"I was going to tell you something, but I forgot what it was." I told him, watching as he pulled out a pair of khaki shorts and a green tank top. I recognized them as my own clothes. "Hey, what are you doing with those?"

"You left them here. Remember?" He grinned that all-knowing grin that I'd come to detest. For some reason, I found I didn't detest it quite so much as I used to.

Then it clicked. "Oh yeah! I remember what I was gonna say now!" I exclaimed. He tossed the clothes toward me and I caught them, holding them to my chest. "I was gonna tell you that I-"

"Good morning Destiny Islands, and a very Happy Valentine's Day to all you little lovebirds out there!" Riku said suddenly.

"Huh?"

_z-z-z-z-z_

"It's 7:30, bright and early. Roll on out of bed and pull back those curtains cause it's gonna be a warm, sunny day! You're waking up with Silly Sym on LMAO radio-" I rolled over and shoved the offending clock radio onto the floor. The annoyingly perky voice of the announcer died instantly.

"Aaaauuuurgg." I groaned into my pillow. My head _hurt_. I'd slept too hard…and I was up too early. I tried to remember why exactly I'd set my alarm to go off before the usual 10:30. _Oh yeah. Clerith. _I was meeting them for breakfast at 8:00 in the hotel's restaurant. I had to talk myself out of calling to cancel as I (literally) pulled myself out of bed and rolled onto the floor. Another realization backhanded me out of nowhere. What was it Riku had said in the dream?

Happy Valentine's day. Oh blah. Another reason for me to crawl back into my warm cocoon and sleep the day away. I reached up and pulled a pillow off the bed, giggling to myself when it fell and smacked me on the head. I buried my face in it and sighed, thinking maybe I could just fall asleep again and let Clerith forget about me. Then I could finish that dream…

Tempting as that sounded, it obviously wasn't meant to be. Someone knocked on the door. "Eh?" I turned my face just enough to see the door. When no one replied I tried again, louder this time. "What?" Still no answer. If this was Cloud's idea of a joke, it wasn't funny.

I crawled to my feet, yawning widely. I threw the door back. "I said, what-" I paused as soon as I realized the hall was empty. I locked the door and fought back another yawn, growling to myself. _A prankster, eh? Prank me again and I'll shove a few ninja stars right up your_ – My thoughts pretty much stopped themselves, thanks to my short attention span. The clock caught my eye. 7:52.

"Holy-" I exclaimed, realizing I had all of eight minutes to get dressed, shower, and brush my teeth. Not necessarily in that order. It just wasn't going to happen. I flopped onto the bed and snatched the phone off of its hook. I'd written down Clerith's room number on the complimentary notepad on the little dresser. I dialed it and walked through the short rings for an answer.

"Hello?" I recognized Cloud's deep voice right off.

"Hey, it's Yuffie. I'm not gonna meet you guys this morning. I'm sorry." I twisted the cord around my forefinger tightly.

"Okay. Any particular reason?" There was a shift on his side of the line as he quietly repeated what I'd said to someone, I figured Aerith.

"I, uh, I don't feel very good this morning. My head is killing me." Well it wasn't a _complete_ lie. "Maybe I've got whatever Riku had."

"Maybe." He relayed the message to Aerith again. "Aerith says to feel better…and to get plenty of rest…she wants to know if you need anything…should she come over- Aerith you would like to talk to her yourself?" Cloud asked finally, his tone hinting at exasperation. I heard her indignant "No!" in the back ground and smiled to myself.

They'd only been husband and wife for a few weeks and already they were acting like an old married couple. "Thanks, but I'm fine. You guys enjoy the day okay?" I sat up, wrestling to untangle my fingers from the cord.

"Sure, you too." Cloud replied distractedly and hung up. Assuming I could sneak out without getting caught by Clerith, I could go surprise Riku with a little 'Singles' day cheer. Maybe he'd be feeling better and I could drag him into swimming with me again. After all, the radio had said it was a warm day. The cold snap was over!

I tried not to think about the fact that it was getting warm just as it was about time for me to go back to Traverse Town. That would only depress me. As I turned on the shower in my small, white bathroom I began to mentally list plots and plans to come back. I could _forget_ something important here and not _remember_ it until a few days after our return.

This would buy a little extra time. I could learn how to pilot a gummy ship and steal one every once in a while, staying a few weeks here and a few weeks there…that could work! Or maybe Sora and Kairi and Riku could all come visit me instead!

There was always the possibility of moving here. I could find a job, rent an apartment, and start a life. Maybe I _was_ only 16, but I had always been the fiercely independent type. It was time to grow up…even if if it was a little scary. And, assuming I ever worked up the nerve to admit the way I felt toward him, Riku could be serious relationship potential. Despite the age difference, that is. The thought made me smile. Sure he had turned 16 a few months ago, but in November I would 17. You wouldn't know the age difference by the way we acted of course, that was for sure.

I quickly rinsed off and got out, then dried myself and put on my clothes. Who was I kidding? I couldn't move here. Clerith and Leon were my family! It was hard enough being away from just Leon for this long (as I gathered from my most recent dream) so imagining that I was permanently this far from the only family I'd ever known…was terrifying.

"Grow up." I muttered to myself as I locked my door. The hallway was still empty, no one to catch me in my lie. I didn't have to lie to Cloud, he would have just accepted 'I don't feel like it' or 'I woke up late'. They probably wouldn't even have minded me being late; they'd have waited for me.

So why did I choose to lie? Because I didn't want to hurt their feelings? Because I wanted to do my own thing without their guidance? Because I didn't want to answer any questions? It was fruitless to worry about myself now. What was done was done. If I got caught, I'd just have miraculously 'gotten better'.

The radio announcer had been right; it was a perfect day. I was glad I decided to wear flip-flops. I could slosh through the ocean, ankle deep, without ever having to put on or take off my shoes. That took up too much time. I took a shortcut to Riku's house today, having finally learned which paths to take an which to avoid. I came up behind his house and headed around to the front door, pausing when something in the living room window caught my eye. It was Riku and…Sora?

I could barely hear what they were saying, but there were bits I could catch through the small crack left at the bottom of the window. I ducked out of sight and edged closer so that I could hear what they were saying. I know I know, bad Yuffie with the eavesdropping and lying and all that. But who could pass up an opportunity like this?

Riku was saying something about tonight. "You just get her to stay in one place sine you know she likes to randomly run off to do who knows what." Sora laughed and muttered something I couldn't hear. I assumed it was derogatory because Riku shoved him, rolling his eyes.

"Just kidding! So after that you'll show up and I'll be free to do my plans, right?"

"Right-" Riku began. A sharp ringing interrupted him. Riku went out of view for a second, returning with phone in hand. He answered it. "Hello?" Sora sat on the couch quietly. "Yeah…oh, she is…oh…well, it's okay. No, it's fine." He glanced at Sora and shook his head, visibly deflated. "Yeah, I'll tell him. Thanks again. Bye." He punched one of the phone buttons, hanging up, and sighed. "So that was Cloud-" He chose that moment to glance out the window.

I ducked again, silently cursing myself for getting careless. I held my breath, hoping to hear them talking again. I didn't hang around long enough to find out. I ran to the front of the house, thundered up the stairs, and knocked on the door. Maybe he'd think I had just been walking by and not listening in on their conversation.

Sora greeted me, ginning. I knew he suspected. "Well, hey! We were just talking about you!"

"Oh?" I grinned back.

"Cloud just called. Said you were sick." Riku showed up behind the brunette. Damn. I just _knew_ that lie would come back to bite me.

"Uh." I so elegantly replied. Darn that Cloud and his evil tattle-taley ways…wait. Why would Cloud tell Riku in the first place? It didn't make any sense. Unless…no that wasn't possible. I just assumed the boys had been talking about Kairi but…was it possible they had been talking about me? It made sense the more I thought about it. I _was_ always spontaneously running off somewhere and Sora did say he would leave after Riku showed up…oh no.

My eyes must have grown to the size of saucers. There was no way Riku could be planning some sort of Valentine's day surprise for me…could he? That would be so…_wrong_. I don't know how, it just would. I mean, sure I had a hell of a crush on him and I wouldn't have minded even casually dating him. But…just like everything else in my life I wanted it to be on my terms. Besides, the chase was half the fun!

Maybe that was why I'd had such a good time crushing on Leon those years back. He'd never reciprocated it, so I was free to crush from afar without ever really having to- _Oh my gawd. _I thought. These little dawns of comprehension were really beating me up today. How many more tons of bricks could they throw at me before lunch, I mean really.

I must have been afraid of commitment! That's why I made it a point to be so light-hearted about everything…that was why I couldn't even admit I loved someone in my _dreams_. Oh the horror! Oh the tragedy! Oh the…okay so I was being a _lot_ melodramatic. But come on, this was a big deal for me!

"Hey, you okay? You look a little pale." Sora peered out at me. Riku looked a little concerned too.

Oh that was it! My ticket to escaping the horrendous Valentine's day plot of doom! I could've kissed Cloud had he been standing there at that moment. "Oh uh, yeah. I'm okay, I think I caught that cold of yours. I just…came over to…tell you. Tell you that I wouldn't be coming over today because I wasn't feeling well. Not that I had been planning to come over or anything…but I guess that this sort of beat the purpose since I _am_ already over here and I could have…just…called?"

What the hell? What happened to award-winning actress Yuffie? The one that could at any other time pull off a stunning performance without so much as a stutter. I must have developed malaria or-or some other mind-screwing tropical disease. That was the only explanation I could think of for my recent inconsistent behavior.

Sora and Riku exchanged glances. "Have you been taking cough medicine?" Riku asked, narrowing his eyes. He held out the hand holding the phone, inviting me in.

I hesitated, but declined of course. I was going to have to go berate myself for being such a complete and total loser, and then I'd have to pretend I was sick for the rest of the day. What a perfect waste of fresh air. If I could have just restarted the whole morning things would have gone a lot smoother.

"Okay, well, if you change your mind just call me. Or come over." He said, his tone hinting at mockery.

I just nodded and turned to leave. "Oh, bye Sora." I added over my shoulder as soon as I remembered he was there. He was still grinning. When the house was out of sight, I let out a little growl of frustration. Why'd I do that? I could have overreacted for nothing after all, maybe he hand't been talking about me! Boy would I feel like an ass.

"Stupid stupid _stupid_ stupid." I whispered, heading out of the woods and onto the sandy beach. A distance away, two young kids splashed and squealed in the shallow water and for that moment I envied them. Not because they were innocent or because they were completely oblivious to the rials and tribulations of the real worlds or anything as overemotional as that. I just wanted to play in the water too.

Any other time, any other day, any other place I'd have dove in headfirst without a care. I was the 'sick' one and it was my decision what I did and didn't do. But for whatever reason I didn't. So this was growing up?

Well, it sucked.

z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z

This was undoubtedly the best Valentine's day ever! It was 6:00 PM and I was pigging out on peanut butter and chocolate, sprawled out on _my_ very own big bed, and lazily flipping through channels on my very own TV. How could I have forgotten the awesomeness of doing absolutely nothing? I'd have to pretend to be sick more often! Room service, cartoons, PJs? Hell yeah!

I'd just settled on an episode of the Angry Badgers when someone knocked on the door. "Yeah?" I called, turning the volume down a few notches.

"Hey it's me." Riku's voice drifted through.

Immediately panicking, I attempted to mess up the blankets more, straighten my hair, and hide the chocolate. "Hold on!" I replied, flying into the bathroom and pulling out a huge wad of toilet paper. I bunched it up in my left hand, hoping I looked remotely fluish. I unlocked the door and opened it just a crack, peering out at him. "Hey."

He smiled. "Hey. How you doin'?"

"Okay." I sniffled.

He shoved his hands into his front pockets. "Can I come in?"

I contemplated this. "Sure." I answered finally, a little wary. Nonetheless, I opened the door fully and allowed him to enter. "Sorry it's a bit of a mess." I offered, knowing perfectly well that it was unusually neat.

He looked around as I shut the door behind him, his eyes eventually resting on the TV screen. The animated badgers were busy beating each other over the head with broomsticks. "Angry Badgers." He commented approvingly. I laughed weakly. He turned to look at me, a half-smile firmly set in place. "You aren't _really_ sick…are you." It was more of a statement than a question. I used that as my excuse to stay silent. "So, why did you lie about it?"

That was unavoidable. I sighed. "It just started as a lie to Clerith cause I didn't want to eat breakfast with them and then he called you and it just escalated into this and…blah." I threw the crumpled tissue at the wall, where it bounced off gently and floated to the ground.

"You couldn't have just told me the truth?"

"I panicked!" I explained before I realized that I would have to explain _more about_ the explanation. "I heard you and Sora talking and I heard about the plans and…"

"And you thought it was about you?" Riku mused, chuckling.

I felt my face redden. "Well…" I had to smile. "That's what I get for jumping to conclusions, eh? So then who were you talking about?"

Riku sat on the bed, accompanied by a crunching sound. He raised an eyebrow, reaching beneath the blanket to pull out a half-eaten bag of chocolates. I grinned sheepishly. "Holding out on me? That's not very nice." He grabbed a handful and stuffed it back into its hiding place. "And it _was_ you, you just kind of ruined the surprise."

"Sorry…"

"It's fine. Better this way I'm sure. Who am I to pull something like that with a girl I barely even know? A girl that probably only wants to be friends with someone like me." He kept his eyes on the chocolate wrapper, seeming shy despite his strong, teasing voice. For him, it was unusual…yet curiously charming.

I planted my fists on my hips and wandered over to sit next to him. "This wouldn't happen to be the same girl that randomly kissed you within the first two hours of meeting you? This girl wouldn't be attracted to someone like you?" I laughed.

"Good point." He admitted. "But you said it yourself, you panicked when you found out."

"That's because I'm an idiot. It has nothing to do with not liking you…cause I do plenty of that. Liking you I mean. I do plenty of being an idiot too, that's not what I mean. Take this moment for example. I should have shut up long before I started." My insane rambling fell on deaf ears; he was too busy laughing at me. Have I mentioned I like his laugh? "I'm sorry I ruined the day." I said when the moment grew serious. "And I'm sorry I lied about being sick."

"It's okay, I lied about being sick too."

"What!" I exclaimed. "You mean you were _never_ sick?"

"No, no I was sick in the beginning. I couldn't pretend to sneeze like a…what was it?"

"Wounded hippo." I supplied, snickering.

"Right, that. I couldn't pretend to do that if I tried. But yesterday when you called, I was fine. It was all part of the plan to keep you off the trail. Lot of good that did." He smirked.

"I _knew_ it!" I cried. "You and Sora were acting weird! You great big conspirators!" I punched him in the shoulder. It didn't phase him in the least. Comfortable silence came rushing back and I welcomed it, basking in the glow of the confessions. Who'd have thought that a day that began so horribly would end up so perfectly? Imagine that.

"Well, I guess I'm gonna go." He said finally as he stood up.

I mimicked him. "I guess so…"

Riku cleared his throat. "So um, problem solved, heartfelt talk complete…I guess this is the part where we kiss, right? Just to keep the cheesyness alive?" He half-smiled.

"Hmm." I pretended to think. "We wouldn't want to completely follow the system, would we? I mean, we should keep a little spontaneity, right?"

"Spontaneity." He feigned astonishment. "Small girl, big word."

"Small boy, big ego." I retorted.

"Small." He snorted. "All right, fine. Spontaneity it is." He opened the door for himself and I absently followed him out into the hall. "Bye." He waved.

I nodded and watched as he walked off before disappearing back into my room and locking the door. I enjoyed the feeling of my racing heart. I hadn't felt like this since my crush on Leon a while back. I liked it. About 30 seconds later there was a rapid series of knocks on the door. I opened it to find Riku again. He bent forward and awkwardly pressed his lips against mine, his hand resting on my shoulder.

It wasn't at all smooth or foot popping like all the movies showed. Our height difference plus my klutziness plus bad breath equaled a completely unromantic moment…and I loved it. He straightened a few seconds later and shook his head. "Screw spontaneity." Was all he said before turning to leave again. I watched him walk down the hall, still in a state of shock. "With any luck, you really _will_ be sick by morning." He called over his shoulder just before vanishing down the stairs toward the lobby.

I laughed dizzily to myself, not caring as people poked their heads out of their doors to see what all the yelling was about. It was official. I _loved_ Valentines Day.

z-

The next morning as I rolled out of bed, I sneezed.

Miles away, I just _knew_ Riku was laughing to himself.

_-z-_

_A/N: Sorry about the major update delay! Since this was a crazy long chapter (I won't do this again, I promise) I figure that makes up for it. I have no idea when the next installment will come out, but you get cookies if you guess what it'll be about. I hinted at it in this chapter and the last chapter. Muwhaha! _

_Sorry about the character OOCness by the way. Then again, I think most fluff is pretty OOC. Fluff just isn't realistic. Which is why we love it so much! Right? Okay, I'm shutting up._

_Reviewer thanks: I seriously love you all._

_**October Breeze**_

_**Wolf Fangs: I bet in reality (ha, reality) Riku does sneeze very cute, not like a hippo. Hell, everything Riku does is probably cute…hah. Okay. Bad Ann. Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**NeonRaine**_

_**Sabrina: Qwicksilver wrote Life or Something Like It. You should go read it! It is most excellent!**_

_**Deplora**_

_**MysticAngel1: So many things I want to say to you…but I don't have time. **_

_**Kirakayano**_

_**Bracken-Fae**_

_**Quicksilver**_

_**EyeoftheTigerKissoftheDragon**_

_**Meranii**_

_**PerfectAbuse**_

_**Vampiegurl**_


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